Some Columbia residents may be confused after seeing that a senior property tax freeze, which was adopted by the Boone County Commission in May 2024, is once again on the ballot.
Proposition 1 addresses the Senior Real Estate Tax Relief Program, a program that is already in effect for homeowners who are 62 and older.
County voters are being asked on Aug. 5 to extend the senior tax freeze to include any future voter-approved debt, such as bond issues.
The state law that enacted the tax relief put individual counties in charge of deciding how to implement the policy. The initial proposition, which was placed on the ballot by the Boone County Commission, only included a freeze in property tax.
Senior Boone County residents are eligible for the tax relief program as long as they are an owner of a home and are in charge of making the property taxes on it.
Kip Kendrick, the Boone County presiding commissioner, said that if the proposition is passed, it will not impact the process for current applicants.
“They’re not going to have to come in and do anything differently. We’ll amend the program, keep it going,” he said.
Former Missouri Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch pushed to have the proposition placed on the ballot, leading an effort to gather more than 5,000 signatures to ensure voters would settle the question.
Reisch addressed concerns that younger taxpayers will bear the burden of the proposed change.
“People that are under 62, they’re like, ‘Well, we’re just going to have to pay more taxes,’” she said. “And we’re like, ‘Not necessarily,’ because these political subdivisions can budget their money better and they can spend more wisely.”
Reisch said she is confident the addendum will pass, citing results from the 2024 vote.
“The one last year passed overwhelmingly,” she said.
Regardless of how people vote, the property tax freeze will remain in effect. Kendrick said he also anticipates it passing.
“If it doesn’t get passed, then the Boone County Commission intends for the program to move forward as it currently exists,” Kendrick said.
About 8,500 parcels were covered by the senior tax freeze last year, and about 1,500 more are expected this year, Kendrick said. Property owners must request renewal annually for the freeze.
Proposition 1 is the only Boone County ballot initiative that all residents are eligible to vote on.
