Supervisor Snider: Governor’s visit, senior tax breaks and a transportation summit

By now we’ve all successfully negotiated the 2007 holiday season and are well launched into the bright, shiny possibilities of the New Year. And for those of us old-fashioned enough to still write the occasional paper check – it’s time to struggle with the fact that the dates on those checks need to end in “2008” and not “2007!”

Of course, the cold snap (if you’re from Manitoba or the UP – that’s all it is) or really cold weather and freezing nights (if you’re a desert rat like many of us who think that anything under 90 degrees is cold) helps us all realize that it’s wintertime and so changing the calendar is appropriate. It also means that the white fly population has been decimated, and that can’t be all bad.

Speaking of freezes, those Pinal County residents over the age of 65 should be thinking ahead to tax season; there are two programs that often benefit our seniors. First, the State of Arizona offers a Senior Property Valuation Protection (a.k.a. “Senior Freeze”). This valuation protection helps to freeze the full cash value of a primary residence owned by seniors based on income and age. Remember it is only the valuation that is frozen, not the taxes. Unfortunately you still have to pay those! If you qualify for this freeze, you must renew your application every three years.

To qualify for this senior freeze you must meet the following qualifications:
You must be on the Title of Property and a minimum of 65 years young.
The property must be a primary residence for a minimum of two years.
All sources of income from all Owners, including Taxable and Nontaxable monies cannot exceed $27,792 per year per single owner; or $34,740 per year for two or more owners.

Next is the Widow-Widower’s and/or Disabled Person’s Tax Exemption. This provision will exempt a portion of your taxes if you meet the following qualifications:
Must be a permanent resident of Arizona.
Total Net Assessed valuation in Arizona cannot exceed $20,836.
Income from all sources, excluding social security, cannot exceed $25,000.
If children under 18 years of age reside in household, the household income cannot exceed $30,000.

Please note that you must file your request for the Widow-Widower’s and Disabled Person’s Tax Exemption every year. Furthermore, you need to know that first time filers for either one or both of the Senior Freeze and the Widow-Widower’s and Disabled Person’s Tax Exemption must file for it in person at the County Assessor’s Office. For more information on either or both of these programs, contact County Assessor Paul Larkin’s office (520-866-6361, [email protected] or go www.co.pinal.az.us/assessor). Mr. Larkin’s office has also published a brochure on the Arizona Property Tax Valuation system and process – copies are available in my Casa Grande office at 820 E. Cottonwood Lane (Building A) or from the Assessor’s Office in Florence.

As long as you have your calendars out – please make note of Wednesday, Jan. 16. That’s the day that Governor Janet Napolitano returns again to Pinal County and Casa Grande for the express purpose of delivering her remarks on the State of the State: the 2008 edition. Governor Napolitano has chosen Pinal County for this signal honor twice before – a personalized delivery of her most important speech of each legislative session. No Arizona governor has ever done that for us until Governor Napolitano. The stage for this remarkable event has been set for the Club House of the Palm Creek Golf & RV Resort (1110 N. Henness Road) in Casa Grande. After spending the earlier part of the day in Tucson, the Governor will appear on stage at approximately 4:30 that afternoon. I hope to see many of you there!

But that Wednesday (the 16th) is not over yet. That evening is also the Maricopa Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Awards Banquet (6 p.m. at Harrah’s Ak-Chin Conference Center & Casino) as well as the kick-off reception for the 10th Annual Rural Transportation Summit to be held at the Francisco Grande Golf Hotel & Golf Resort. This conference brings together transportation planners and involved elected officials from Arizona’s 13 rural counties as well as transportation planners from the six Councils of Governments, the Arizona Department of Transportation and the State Transportation Board.

The bulk of the program takes place on Thursday (the 17th), and on Friday morning the State Transportation Board will meet in open session to transact its regular business. Although the Transportation Summit’s programs require pre-registration, the State Transportation Board’s meeting is open to the public. For more information on the Maricopa Chamber of Commerce event go to www.maricopachamber.com or call (520) 568-2844 – for more information on the Summit, go to www.caagcentral.org.

In closing I’d like to take this opportunity to share some thoughts for the New Year. I look forward to the time when the housing market is far more stable than it is now with one side of the street having signs announcing either For Sale, For Rent, or Foreclosure and the other side of the street with homes under construction! One of my primary resolutions for the New Year is to continue working with Pinal County’s cities, towns and Indian communities on issues of transportation, economic development, health care, quality of life and growth management.

This coming year will be another year of excitement, growth (in a wide variety of directions and ways), change and challenge. I look forward to more collaboration, dialog and cooperation with all of our regional partners as we rise to meet the adventure of becoming the best Pinal County we can be. May you all enjoy the best of fortune, health and happiness in this New Year.