Washington County approves two ordinances offering property-tax relief to surviving spouses of public servants

The Washington County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to adopt two related ordinances that create property-tax relief for surviving spouses of certain public servants who died in the line of duty.

At a public hearing, a county staff member summarized the measures and explained that the exemption uses the county’s average assessed value to determine the taxable portion of a residence; a surviving spouse who continues to occupy the property as a primary residence may qualify, and the exemption is preserved if the spouse temporarily resides in a nursing or convalescent facility. County staff also said surviving spouses must file an affidavit with the commissioner’s office and must notify the commissioner within 30 days if they remarry.

Steven Goebel Jr., who identified himself as personnel from the Washington County commissioner’s office, asked the board to adopt both ordinances and said the commissioner’s office recommended a rate of 0.0005 for the military-related classification. “The least that we can do… is to put something in place to help with the burden of lost loved ones,” he said.

After the hearing, supervisors moved to adopt the first ordinance to amend Article 2 of Chapter 58 (surviving spouses of law enforcement and emergency-services personnel) and approved it by voice vote, 6-0. The board then opened a second public hearing on a companion ordinance creating a separate tax classification for surviving spouses of members of the armed forces who died in the line of duty and approved that ordinance by the same margin, 6-0.

Why it matters: the ordinances align county practice with state-provided language and procedures and give qualifying surviving spouses a mechanism to reduce property taxes on their homes. The board directed county staff and the commissioner’s office to ensure the filing process and rate calculations are communicated clearly to residents.

The ordinances will take effect as provided in the adopted text; county staff said they will correct minor drafting/board-book issues before final publication.