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Home My WebLink Aboutordinance.council.001-91 .- ORDINANCE NO. 1 (Series of 1991) AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A PROPERTY TAX AND TAX-EQUIVALENT REBATE FOR QUALIFIED LOW-INCOME SENIOR CITIZENS AND INCLUDING A SUNSET PROVISION. WHEREAS, on November 12, 1990, the City Council for the city of Aspen, Colorado, adopted Resolution No. 51 (Series of 1990) which Resolution approved and oertitied to the Board of County Commissioners for Pitkin County the 1991 mill levy for taxable real property within the municipal boundaries at the City at Aspen; and WHEREAS, the 1991 mill levy as adopted by the City Council for the City of A~pen incorporated an increase over the 1990 levy of three ( 3) mills devoted to an approved program of capital .- improvements to be implemented within the city of Aspen over the course of ten ( 10) years; and WHEREAS , the city Council at the city of Aspen desires to -- exempt qualified low-income senior citizens from the impact of the additional three (3) mills as incorporated in the 1991 levy and for so long as the three (3) mills may be continued from year to year to fund the ten (10) year capital improvement program. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, THAT: Section 1 Chapter 21, "Taxation", of the Municipal Code at the City of Aspen, COlorado, is hereby amended by adding new Article II, ~ "Real Property Tax Rebates", which article shall read as follovlS: .... lilt ARTICLE II. REAL PROPERTY TAX RELIEF. Sec. 21-16. Low-Income Senior Citizen Rebate. (1) APPLICABILITY. All qualified persons aged sixty-five (65) years or older who own or rent taxable real property within the municipal boundaries of the city shall receive a rebate on the municipal portion of their real property taxes equal to the tax generated and paid on three (3) mills of assessed valuation or a tax-equivalent in accordance with the provisions of this Section 21-16. (2) QUALIFICATIONS. .'- (a) Except as provided below for a surviving spouse in paragraph (e) of this subsection, persons aged sixty-five (65) years or older, or who will attain the age of sixty-five (65) years during the tax year for which a rebate is sought, shall be eligible for a rebate. (b) Any person applying for a rebate must have resided within the city of Aspen for a period of not less than one (1) year immediately prior to the date of their rebate application. (c) Only property occupied by the rebate applicant as a full-time residence shall qualify for a rebate. Any residence occupied or used in whole or in part by the applicant for protessional or business purposes shall be ineligible. (d) If the rebate applicant resides in a multi-unit residential structure that the applicant owns, any rebate allowed the applicant shall not exceed that percentage of taxes paid equal to the portion of the residential structure occupied by the appli- cant as his or her individual residence. (e) A husband and wife shall be treated as jointly qualifying for a rebate if either meets the age requirement as set forth herein and they jointly meet all other requirements as contained in this section. A surviving spouse aged sixty (60) years or older shall continue to be eligible to receive a rebate so long as he or she meets all of the other requirements of this section. . 2 -~ (t) Where two or more persons, other than husband and wife, own a residence jointly or in common, each may receive a rebate equal to the percentage of their ownership interest as determined by the Finance Director so long as they meet all of the other requirements contained in this section. (g) No rebate applicant shall receive a rebate if their annual income from all sources exceeds the following limits: (i) $17,580.00 for an individual living alone. (ii) $21,972.00 for a household containing two or more persons. Ip- Income shall include, but not be limited to, employment or investment income, interest pay- ments, rental income, alimony, cash public assis- tance, pension or annuity benefits, federal social security or supplemental security payments, veteran's benefits, workers compensation, un- employment compensation, and any other regularly paid cash support, but shall not include outright bona fide gifts. (h) Persons otherwise qualified to receive a rebate under this section but who do not own the resi- dence in which they live may receive a tax-equiva- lent rebate equal to one percent (1%) of their actual rent paid during the taxable year. Rent paid shall not include utility chargee, main- tenance fees, association fees, or food charges. To qualify as a tax-equivalent payment, rent must have been paid as part ot a bona fide tenancy or leasing agreement and shall not include any pay- ments made to institutions or facilities commonly known as nursing homes, but shall include rent paid for use at a mobile home or trailer space. No person may receive both a tax-equivalent rebate and a property tax rebate for any single tax year. ~ - (3) APPLICATION PROCEDURES. (a) Rebates as authorized by this Section 21-16 shall commence with the 1991 tax year and must be claimed by written application signed under oath on forms prescribed by the Director of Finance. All rebate applications must be completed and 3 .- (b) submitted no later than December 31st of the tax year tor which a rebate is sought. Any person making application tor a rebate must provide proot satisfactory to the Director of Finance of age, ownership, occupancy, income, residency and payment of real property taxes or a tax-equivalent (rent). (c) When two or more persons claim a rebate for the same residence, the Finance Director shall deter- mine the proper rebate allocation, if any. (d) No person shall be eligible or receive more than one (1) rebate for any tax year. (e) The burden of proving eligibility and entitlement to a rebate under this section shall be on the applicant. (f) It a guardian, conservator or attorney-in-fact has been appointed for a rebate applicant otherwise qualified to claim a rebate under this section, the guardian, coneervator or attorney-in-fact may act for such applicant in claiming the rebate. . (4) ADMINISTRATION. t (a) The Director of Finance shall administer the rebate program as established in this Section 21- 16 and shall prepare such forms and adopt such regulations consistent with this section as he or she deems necessary to implement same. The Director ot Finance shall also make known the provisions of this section by annual written notice to Pitkin County Senior Services, the Pitkin County Department of Social Services, and such other agencies serving the elderly as he or she may deem appropriate. (b) The Director of Finance shall review the income eligibility limits as specified in this Section 21-16 on an annual basis and report to the City Council at the time of the adoption of the munici- pal budget as to whether such limits should be increased, decreased or otherwise modified. (5) REBATE PROGRAM TERMINATION. Unless otherwise provided by affirmative legislative action of the City Council, the rebate program as provided in this Section 21-16 .. 4 r._ . . shall automatically terminate upon the repeal or non- renewal of the three (3) mill levy for municipal capital improvements as first adopted by the City of Aspen pursuant to Ordinance No. 51 (Series of 1990). Any application for rebate pending at the time of termination of the program and not acted upon shall be processed to completion in accordance with this Section 21-16 and all persons subsequently found eligible for a rebate shall receive same. Section 2 This ordinance shall not have any effect on existing litiga- tion and shall not operate as an abatement of any action or proceeding now pending under or by virtue ot the ordinances repealed or amended as herein provided, and the same shall be construed and concluded under such prior ordinances. Section 3 It any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional in a court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions thereof. Section 4 A public hearing on the ordinance shall be held on the 28th day of January, 1991, in the City Council Chambers, Aspen City Hall, Aspen, Colorado. INTRODUCED, READ AND ORDERED PUBLISHED as provided by law by the City council of the city of Aspen on the 14th day of January, 1991. 5 ~ -. ~. - ATTEST: ~Ch'f ~le~k FINALLY adopted, passed and approved this 28th day of January, 1991. i\TTEST: yj~ K~ch, City Clerk ~/. <-/~- y~,c( William L. stirling, May r 6