[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Westbrook
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-13-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-85 (Ch. 41 of the 2007 Code)]
[Amended 6-15-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-65; 6-7-2021 by Order No. 2021-53]
The purpose of this article is to establish property tax assistance
to persons 65 years of age and older who are residents of the City.
Under this program, the City shall provide refund payments to those
individuals who maintain a homestead in the City and meet the criteria
established by this article.
For purposes of this article, the following definitions shall
apply:
The dwelling owned or rented by a taxpayer or held in a revocable
living trust for the benefit of the taxpayer and occupied by the taxpayer
and file taxpayer's dependents as a home and may consist of a part
of a multidwelling or multipurpose building and a part of the land,
up to 10 acres, upon which it is built. For purposes of this article,
"owned" includes a vendee in possession under a land contract, one
or more joint tenants or tenants in common and possession under a
legally binding agreement that allows the owner of the dwelling to
transfer the property but continue to occupy the dwelling as a home
until some future event stated in the agreement.
The credit issued by the State of Maine under the provisions
of 36 M.R.S.A. § 5219-KK.
A person who is determined by the Tax Collector to be eligible
for tax assistance under the provisions of this article.
Fifteen percent of the gross rent actually paid for the right
of occupancy of the homestead. For purposes of this article "gross
rent" means rent paid in an arms-length transaction solely for the
right of occupancy of a homestead, exclusive of charges for any utilities,
service, furniture, furnishings, or appliances furnished by the landlord
as part of the rental agreement, whether or not expressly set forth
in the rental agreement.
In order to participate in the property tax assistance program,
an applicant must demonstrate the following:
A.
The applicant is at least 65 years of age as of July 1 of the tax
year for which the applicant seeks property tax assistance.
[Amended 6-15-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-65; 6-7-2021 by Order No. 2021-53]
B.
The applicant has a homestead in the City at the time of the application
and for the entire year prior to the date of the application.
C.
The applicant has been a resident of the City for at least 10 years
immediately preceding the date of the application.
A.
Application form. Any person seeking to participate in the property
tax assistance program shall submit an application to the Tax Collector
on a form provided by the City. Applications shall be available at
City Hall and on the website. The application must include the name
of the applicant, the homestead address for which property tax assistance
is requested and contact information. The application must include
evidence of receipt of a property tax fairness credit and the amount
of the credit.
B.
Time for filing of application; annual requirement. An application
for property tax assistance under this article must be filed by June
1 of the fiscal year following the federal tax year for which property
tax assistance is sought (for example, for federal tax year 2019,
the application must be Filed no later than June 1, 2021). For the
first year of this program, any application for the 2018 federal tax
year must be filed not later than June 1, 2020. A new application
must be filed for every year that the person seeks to participate
in the program. If the Tax Collector determines that additional information
is required to determine eligibility or otherwise process the application,
no action shall be taken on the application until such information
is provided by the applicant.
[Amended 1-27-2020 by Order No. 2020-2]
C.
Determination of eligibility; timing of payment. The Tax Collector shall review each completed application and determine whether the applicant is eligible to participate in the program and has met the criteria set forth in § 286-5. The Tax Collector shall notify each applicant about the determination of eligibility. The decision by the Tax Collector on eligibility and amount awarded shall be final. Payment shall be issued within 14 days after the date of the notification of eligibility.
D.
Limitation on total property tax assistance. Property tax assistance
under this article shall match the amount of the property tax fairness
credit received by the applicant, up to a maximum amount of $1,000.
[Amended 6-7-2021 by Order No. 2021-53]
E.
Limited
to annual appropriation plus any surplus reserve. Notwithstanding
any other provision of this section, the annual amount expended on
this tax assistance program shall be limited to the amount appropriated
each year for the program and any surplus reserve. Funds shall be
paid to those persons filing completed applications on a first-come-first-served
basis and no additional assistance shall be provided in any year in
which the appropriation limit is met. Any surplus funds remaining
in the annual appropriation for the tax assistance program shall be
moved to a reserve fund at the conclusion of each fiscal year.
[Added 1-27-2020 by Order No. 2020-2; amended 8-15-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-96]
A.
Property tax fairness credit qualification. In order to receive property
tax assistance under this article, an eligible applicant must have
received a property tax fairness credit under the provisions of 36
M.R.S.A. § 5219-KK for the property tax year in which assistance
is sought. Property taxes for the tax year for which assistance is
sought must have been paid in full in order to participate in the
program.
B.
Limitation of one payment per homestead. Only one qualifying applicant
shall be entitled to payment under this program each year for each
homestead. The benefit is personal to the applicant and does not survive
the applicant's death.
C.
Effect of payment on property tax abatement. If a property owner
seeks a property tax abatement for any year in which assistance has
been granted under this article, the amount of the payment made under
this article shall be deducted from any amount abated for the tax
year in which a payment was made.
