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Board of County Commissioners May 22, 2013 Page Two DISCUSSION. In Indian River County, there are presently 11 property tax exemptions or reductions in assessed value, either created by Florida law, or authorized by Florida law and created by County ordinance. A summary of these exemptions/reductions, which was taken from the Indian River County Property Appraiser website, is attached as Exhibit B. Indian River County, through prior ordinances, has created two of the exemptions/reductions: (1)by Ordinance 2001-021, the Board created the "first" additional homestead exemption for senior citizens which allows a $25,0001 exemption for seniors who (a) hold legal title to homestead property on which they maintain their permanent residence, (b) have attained the age of 65, and (c) whose household income does not exceed the indexed amount discussed above, and (2) by Ordinance 2005-028, the Board created the "Granny flat" reduction in the assessed value of homestead property. Specifically, if homestead property is improved to provide living quarters for certain parents or grandparents of the property owner, the assessed value of the homestead property is reduced by the value of the improvements. In light of the existing $25,000 homestead exemption for senior citizens created by Ordinance 2001- 021, the proposed ordinance implementing Amendment 11 would become, in effect, the "second" additional homestead exemption for senior citizens. The proposed ordinance tracks the language of §196.075(2)(b), Florida Statutes, which sets forth the specific requirements which must be met to qualify for the exemption. The Board has no discretion with respect to these requirements. The Board does have discretion with respect to the amount of the exemption, which may be up to "the amount of the assessed value of the property." As stated, at the May 7, 2013 meeting, the Board voted to move forward with an exemption of$25,000. FINANCIAL IMPACT. The County Attorney requested information from the IRC Property Appraiser estimating the loss of tax revenue that would result from an exemption. A precise number is difficult to predict; however, the best estimate is that an exemption of $25,000 would result in a decrease in tax revenue of approximately $11,600 to $23,000. County administrative staff agrees that whatever the actual number turns out to be, it is not significant. 1 The Florida Legislature subsequently increased the allowable amount of this exemption to$50,000;however,in Indian River County the exemption has remained at$25,000. F.lAnom,eaindalGeneraiOCQ4genda MemosWomesiead Exemption(Sr.Citizens)01.do 102