Cole County adopts senior real estate property tax relief ordinance after months of debate

The Cole County Commission adopted an ordinance establishing a senior real estate property tax relief program that will take effect with the 2025 tax assessment.

The ordinance, passed at the commission's Dec. 24 meeting, permits eligible homeowners to freeze the assessed value on their primary residence beginning with the 2025 assessment year. County officials said the ordinance gives local elected officials and staff the authority to develop forms, rules and procedures needed to implement the program.

Commissioners and other meeting participants debated the measure for roughly an hour. Supporters said the program will offer relief to residents on fixed incomes and that the ordinance simply freezes assessments rather than immediately reducing current collections. Opponents raised concerns about unknown long-term costs to local taxing jurisdictions, including school districts, fire districts and other political subdivisions that rely on property-tax revenue.

County staff told commissioners that the state enacted Senate Bill 756 (which amended earlier proposals often referenced as Senate Bill 190 in public discussion) and that the local ordinance implements the relief the state authorized. Commissioners discussed practical implementation issues, including application forms, software, staffing and a timeline for notifying affected taxing entities. The commission authorized staff from the collector's office, the assessor, the county clerk and other elected offices to meet and prepare procedures and application materials.

No exact countywide cost estimate for the program was available at the meeting; commissioners repeatedly described the fiscal effect on local taxing districts as "unknown" and said some of the impacted districts cross county lines, which complicates projections. Staff said the 2025 assessment is the program's base year so there will be limited calculation duties in 2026, while the first substantial recalculation for affected taxing streams is expected in 2027 when reassessments occur.

The commission held a voice vote on the ordinance; the clerk recorded the motion as approved with one commissioner opposed. The ordinance text and the detailed implementation schedule will be prepared by county staff and brought to future meetings for administrative steps such as application form adoption and software configuration.

The commission also directed the collector to prepare the statutorily required reports to each affected taxing jurisdiction listing estimated revenue reductions once applications are processed, as required under the enabling legislation.