Travis County Commissioners Court
July 28, 2009,
Item 24
Number 24.
presentation by nelda spears, tax assessor collector, regarding house bill 3613, passed by the 81st legislature to exempt disabled veterans from paying property taxes.
>> good afternoon.
>> good afternoon.
>> since you introduced me by name, do I have to tell you that my name is nelda wells spears again.
>> never pass up a politicking opportunity, ms.
spears.
>> thank you, judge.
nelda wells spears, Travis County tax assessor collector.
>> thank you.
>> nelda.
>> we are here to give the court as well as the public some information about the new disabled veteran exemptions.
for the property taxes.
and to ask you to -- to approve a couple of things, a couple of outreach-related items.
in November of 2007, Texas voters approved an exemption for disabled veterans, but no enabling legislation was passed.
and it has -- they have -- the legislature has -- has since passed house bill 3613.
which -- which enables the -- the state and counties to move forward with the disabled veterans, the new disabled veterans extension.
what's -- the -- what the new bill does, eve always had an exemption for -- for disabled veterans, but it was based on -- on their level of disability.
the 1 through 4, with 4 being around a 17% disability.
we can now provide for -- for disabled veterans who are -- who are rated 100% disabled they can now be exempt from all property taxes on their residents, homestead.
they will -- the veterans will need to know about the program and request from the u.s.
department of -- of veterans affairs, a letter certifying that -- that they are 100% disabled or unemployable and the unemployable is the brand new part of -- of the exemption.
if the veterans is -- is either 100% disabled due to a service connected injury or disability, or if this veteran is -- has a lower level of disability, like 70%, and are deemed by the u.s.
government to be unemployable, they will also receive this exemption.
they will need to -- to apply for the exemption through the travis central appraisal district and the chief appraiser is here to -- to address in -- in more detail the -- the process through which the veteran has to go with -- with the -- with the disability, the application for this exemption.
mr.
pope from veterans affairs is also here to talk about the -- about the requirements, the detailed requirements that the -- that the federal government requires.
how -- how a veteran would go about getting the -- a letter sent to them verifying either their unemployability or their 100% disability in order to qualify to this program.
what we would like the court to assist us with is outreach.
i don't think there are 100% of our veterans who are informed about this.
there are some who are aware, excuse me, there are some who are -- who are aware from -- from organizations that they are affiliated with like the vfw, the american legion.
and some other sources, our objective here is to get information to veterans who have sustained some level of disability so that they will know what's available to them if they go through the -- through the process and hopefully that process won't be too cumbersome or lengthy.
but part of it is handled by the federal government, the u.s.
department of veterans affairs and part of it by the travis central appraisal district.
any questions?
>> let me ask you, I have a couple of them.
thank you.
for that overview.
nelda.
ms.
spears.
let's say someone is watching this particular show today and -- and they say, you know, I'm a veteran and I have -- I have some of the categories that you just mentioned and -- and I was -- disabled or the other.
at that time they said well I would like to go through the process of getting the -- getting the necessary paperwork in and stuff like that to -- to -- to assure that I'm exempted from all property taxes at my homestead.
how -- my question is, once the process starts, they -- I know that they have to go through the veterans affairs, getting a letter, substantiating all of these particular factors that must be associated to the letter, once that letter is presented to the -- to the appraisal, district, at that time, from that point of receipt of the letter, to the appraisal district, when -- when does the -- it goes into effect whereby the persons -- person is exempted -- exemption on his -- on their homestead would actually go into effect.
how does that work?
>> this would -- this -- the new bill will apply to the 2009 tax year.
it could be this year provided they get the documentation.
from the federal government to the appraisal district and fill out an application, which the central appraisal district will provide.
and I don't know how long -- how long the government is taking to process -- process these.
mr.
pope may have some idea of how long it's taking.
>> it would be good to know that because I'm quite sure, once the word get out, of course with the number of veterans we have here, a lot of them probably would qualify for these type of exemptions.
>> which is mainly why we're here.
>> right.
>> some folks may already know about the program.
have already applied.
la year there were 3,360 veterans with d 4 status representing $1.5 million in value on the tax roll.
overall there are 5,584 property owners with disabled veteran extensions under the current law representing $2.8 million in value.
that's why -- why part of -- part of why we're here to let the court know that there's -- there's this possibility that all 5500 and maybe some -- some veterans we weren't aware of, would qualify and that would be reflected in the value.
verification that is sent to the court.
>> so do we know at this point are there any veterans that have --
>> applied for --
>> under this --
>> mr.
brown --
>> 36 -- house bill, well, it's now a law --
>> [multiple voices]
>> can you answer that question?
>> yes, to date there's approximately 600 have applied for the --
>> 600.
>> yes, sir.
>> out of potential of about 2600.
we -- the travis central appraisal district did a mailer about two weeks ago.
we have four classifications of properties.
db 1, db 2, db 3 and 4.
the db 4 under the old classification included those veterans that had 70% to 100% disability.
out of that, there was -- we think approximately about 2600 would -- would be potentially eligible, but it's sort of a moving target because some of these people, the way the statute is written, it's -- it's either 100% disabled or considered unemployable.
so -- so we are requesting that -- that the people who are -- who are applying for this get a letter from the department of veterans affairs that establishes that -- that level of disability or whether they are unemployable.
>> anyone indicate the length of time to actually receive that -- that letter from the -- from the united states, the veterans affairs?
>> I don't know how fast the veterans affairs works, but it's my understanding that we can grab the exemption up to a year later.
so if we don't get the application until next year, we can apply it to '09 as well as 2010.
>> okay.
>> I have the answer to that.
>> okay.
please.
>> thank you.
>>
>> [indiscernible] pope, veterans services.
an individual can request the letter, property tax letter right over the phone through the v.a.
through their 800 number.
and if the individual --
>> what 800 number, do you have it with you?
>> it is 1-800-827-1,000.
that phone system is -- you know, is a series of menus, you get do this, do that, you know, eventually you will probably get to someone.
but the individual veteran, that is the very first thing he or she needs to do is to request that letter for property tax purposes.
i have an example of one that's here.
>> okay.
>> if the individual has the ability to receive a fax, they will fax it to them.
or quite naturally they will mail it to them within five or seven days, they should have it just normal process.
okay?
that -- what I want -- what I would like to interject here, we often verify veteran statuses through our office.
we verify income for -- for a number of agencies that are requesting individuals to verify any type of income from the v.a.
we've had a formatted latter that we have iced for many years.
we have never had any type of problem of the -- of the agency not receiving that letter.
stating that it is for compensation or for pension, gives the amount, it can identify if the -- if the compensation is tax free or not.
we can generate a letter similar to that for the property tax.
the information is for a -- verified through the v.a.
we don't arbitrarily ask a person what is his disability and then give him that particular data?
because there's some -- there are other disabilities, there are other benefits he may not be receiving, so it is important for us to call to verify that.
that protects us, too.
okay.
there's -- there's a number of ways that an individual can be 100%.
he could be 100% for just schedule, meaning that if disability and excuse me for just saying, but I really mean he and she.
their disability is of a nature that -- that the rating system allows them to be 100%.
outright.
okay.
that's one individual.
the individual can be 100% through individual unemployability.
there's some categories that -- that the individual must meet to receive that unemployability.
ie, one disability that's rated 60% or more.
one single disability that's rated 60% or more that can apply for -- for individual unemployability.
if the individual has multiple disabilities, and the overall combined rating is 70% or higher, at least one of those multiple conditions must be rated at 40%.
then the individual can apply for individual unemployability.
a combined rating of 100% multiple conditions, they just add up, you know, 100%, 120, 130, the va may, you know, benefit of the doubt or award that individual 100% rating.
another way is that the individual may have a -- a surgery for a disability that requires a convalescent period of more than 30 days.
that individual can receive 100% rating for that time period.
prime example, a knee replacement.
a knee replacement is a convalescent period of 13 months.
12 to 13 months.
it can be extended.
but that is another category during convalescence.
the last one, an individual can be 100% for the purchase of pensions.
but pension individuals are not in there category -- in this category because it's a not service connected condition.
all right?
i can explain what that entails an individual qualify for a pension if you want to hear about it.
>> the obvious thing is for people that inquire to us, if they need to make that phone call to the v.a.
they need to, the very first thing.
what you are saying is that the determination letter from the v.a.
is final whether we lake it or not.
like it the or not.
>> it's final.
yes, sir.
>> okay.
yes, it is.
>> but the disability and unemployability must be connected in some way to military service.
>> yes.
>> yes.
>> that's the basis of service connection.
>> okay.
>> connects.
>> unemployability that -- unemployability has to relate to something that happened in the military.
>> yes.
>> and the feds basically make that call.
>> yes.
>> so on some of these individuals, the call has already been made.
but others may not have requested a determination.
and it's those that may contact us, right?
>> those --
>> what we need to recall is say, you need to call this 1-800 number at the veterans administration or is it simpler for a member of the Commissioners court to refer that person to the Travis County veterans service office.
>> if we received the approval that the appraisal district would accept our -- our letter.
that would be fine.
>> I'm not asking them to accept our letter --
>> [multiple voices]
>> we don't want to be in the business of verifying their status.
we want the v.a.
to remain --
>> the v.a.
is in there.
>> will we have --
>> here's my question.
>> sorry.
>> rather than me acting like an I'm expert on it.
if john doe calls, I'm shuffling, juggling a whole lot of stuff, why couldn't I say contact the Travis County veterans service office, they will give you the phone number, help you make that call.
somebody has got to tell these inquiring residents that you have got to be patient, right?
i mean, when you -- even my phone calls when I try to contact the federal office, it requires patience.
so there's some hand holding required is what I'm saying.
>> yes.
>> I think that Travis County, what we ought to do through your office, is try to assist them and keep it simple and help in whatever way we can.
>> it is -- it is as simple as placing a phone call to verifying it.
if an individual is in an office, it can be faxed right to the office.
given to see or she, then that's the end of it.
>> what telephone and e-mail should --
>> > veterans who feel that they may be eligible for this contact our veterans services office.
>> our phone number is 854-the 340.
854-9340.
854-9340.
again the v.a.
hotline is 1-800-827-1000.
individuals when they call the hotline is -- it is a national call center.
they could be talking to someone from seattle all right.
they be from pea, they just have to identify that the property tax letter is being requested.
for the purpose of exemption for the Texas area.
>> will we be posting anything on the Travis County website that will alert veterans and give them the how to.
>> that's what we're here to ask you to do.
the information will be posted on the tax office website and the t cad website.
we are asking the county to -- on the general county website to ask this information.
that the exemption is available.
who to contact to find out someone is eligible.
>> okay.
>> and --
>> ask you to approve putting a fact sheet --
>> while you are asking, I think you and ms.
>> [indiscernible] get together because we need another agenda item.
where we can do some of these actions, we are posted to receive -- we need an agenda posting that says that.
>> okay.
>> lawyers --
>> [multiple voices]
>> that's right.
>> we'll -- we'll submit the agenda item but we are asking to put a flier in the paychecks in the near future.
with all county paychecks in the near future.
>> we can do that.
>> the county website, whatever else we need to --
>> phone number to contact?
we have a list of everything that we need the court to initiate, we will give that an agenda item.
>> may I ask something specific to house bill 3613 that we haven't covered.
there's a specific provision at the end that doesn't apply only to the disabled veteran exemption and I so applaud anything that we can do to inject some level of progressivity into our property taxes.
this is one example of some progressivity that we can inject into it.
however, there's a provision at the end that's not applicable specifically to veterans.
it's actually for general applications it changes the methodology for the -- for the valuation determination on homesteads.
i wanted to get y'all's briefing on that provision, section 2 of the bill.
amending section 23.01 adding a c.
previously my understanding is that the -- provision said you appraised the value at the highest and best use, using general provision techniques, this is additional that if it's declared a homestead that you appraise the value based on its use as a homestead irrespective of it's highest and best use.
>> that is correct.
i think that legislation was put in for properties that may be around the urban development area.
close to downtown.
there may be a highest a best use for restaurant maybe or a condominium or something along those lines.
so if it's still in use as a residence homestead, then it would be appraised at the -- at the potentially lower value that the -- would generate.
>> do we know what the fiscal impact -- I'm certain that the fiscal note on this bill didn't calculate what the fiscal impact was to the locale, the locality.
>> I'm pretty sure they determined that the fiscal impact was indeterminable.
but I think for the most part it won't affect the role too much.
because a lot of those residences and the downtown areas have pretty high prices already.
and so unless somebody has assembled a lot of land to write can build a -- to where you can build a tower condominium or office building or hotel on it, it takes a while before the land overtakes the overall value for the residence homesteads.
but I do think it will have some effect on the role, but I don't think it will be too much.
>> that's good news.
>> I can hardly wait until next week.
we'll have the action items posted, right.
>> yes, sir.
>> whatever we need to do, let's include.
>> all right.
>> get it done.
>> all right.
>> thank you for your patience.
we appreciate you all coming down.
>> thank you.
>> thank you.
>> yes, sir.
>> I was wondering if I could make a quick announcement.
>> is this about veterans?
>> about what?
>> about this legislation exempting veterans?
>> no, sir.
>> what's the announcement?
>> since we met last, maria quigler here with the appraisal district, she's been here for about 20 years, she's been our i.t.
lady, worked up all the way through from a appraiser all the way to the top, I have just appointed her my deputy chief last week.
>> congratulations.
>>
>> [ applause ]
>> we will allow that good news.
>> thank you.
>> remember that you have friends in Travis County.
>> [laughter]
>> thank you very much.
we need all of the friends we can get.
>> congratulations to you.
>> thank you.
>> thank you.
>> thank y'all.
>> now, I propose that on the ctrma, what I did my office did yesterday was to pull the old process that we had used and then t.n.r.
put together I guess our revised one.
i have not been able to compare the two.
can we just slip that one week?
>> yeah.
>> call it back next week.
>> I haven't seen the revised version.
>> came from carol joseph and steve manila.
steve, I just my office to pull the old one that we use, you and carol joseph put your heads together, submit an additional backup, let us look at those and unless we have issues with them, let's just pick one of them.
if we need to revise it we can.
if we don't we will make it on the consent motion next week.
how's that?
>> great, that's fine.
>> that's one of those items that may take a minutes or much longer than that.
sorry mr.
reeferseed.
you fit right in with the county staff.
>> I'm sorry.
it was my fault.
it was just a silly question really.
about -- as I was listening to them, maybe it not even appropriate to ask right now, but wondering why only veterans as opposed to I understand there's disability -- some tax help for disabled citizens generally speaking.
this is for disabled veterans.
100%.
>> Travis County gives $65,000 to detailed persons with, -- disabled persons, we do that ourselves, the answer to the other items that's what the state legislature has done.
we have no choice but to implement that law whether we like it or not.
that's why I -- really it's the u.s.
veterans administration's call on the disability.
but what we do for persons is if you are disabled we give you just a flat $65,000.
>> exemption.
>> exemption.
>> so obviously it impacts you a whole lot more if your property is worth 150,000 than if it's worth 400,000, but $65,000 period.
that's what you subtract after taking your 20%, if you are disabled you get 20% plus 65,000.
>> great.
but there's a limited time -- on the calendar --
>> well, just contact the central appraisal district with the application, they do a pretty good job of turning that around for you fairly quickly.
>> great.
just talk to the central appraisal district.
>> right.
>> is there --
>> patrick brown he is his name.
>> I'm sorry, his name is what?
>> patrick brown.
>> reducing taxes is his game.
>> okay.
is there a phone number for him?
do you all know it?
>> I don't know offhand.
>> but it's the Texas appraisal -- central travis appraisal district.
>> and the telephone number is 834-9138.
>> sweet.
>> 834-9138.
>> gosh.
thank you so much.
i appreciate that.
well worth the wait.
>> good luck to you.
34 we will have back on next week, mr.
manila.
thank you for your patience, sorry to keep you waiting so long.
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Last Modified:
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 2:31 PM