To ensure residents have the ability to apply for their property tax rebate and receive the money they’re owed, the Shorewood Village Board Trustees agreed to amend the criteria and procedures put in place to govern the program.
“It incorporates the changes that we discussed at the Committee of the Whole two weeks ago,” said Anne Burkholder, finance director.
Several residents had approached the Village to express concern for not receiving the property tax rebate they feel they were owed. At that point, staff determined that constituents who moved from one Shorewood residence to another should qualify.
To address the issue, staff is to utilize a new method to determine if a rebate is owed. It consists of evaluating if the applicant has lived in either the existing property or the new one from January to December for the tax levy year, the ability to demonstrate a homestead exception, and averaging the taxes to be paid to the Village of Shorewood from both properties and applying the approved rebate percentage to the average tax value.
Burkholder presented to the Village Board a draft of the flyer that will go out to all participants in the program, as well as two different applications—one for standard residents and another for constituents who have a mid-year change in residence.
The Village intends to work with the printing company they utilize to make sure residents get the appropriate application.
“That’s just going to take a little bit more detective work, so they might go out a week or so later than the rest of them,” Burkholder said. “We’re pretty confident we’ll be able to do that.”
Last year, the Village approved a 50 percent property tax rebate for taxpayers who qualified. That means the average applicant received $109.34 when the checks were issued in March.
The Board is slated to vote on a measure to authorize the 2016 property tax rebate at its Aug. 22 meeting.
Property tax rebate applications and flyers will mailed to recipients in September. At that point, they have until Dec. 15 to file.
Members needed for Civics Athletics Center Committee
Committee members will help determine how the Village will pay for the new space, where it is located and what will be housed within it.
“Already, I’ve had six people volunteer other than myself,” Mayor Rick Chapman said. “Six people called to volunteer, and I plan to start these meeting in the next two weeks.”
The Village wants to limit the committee to 12 members.
“These people when they talked to me on the phone were very enthusiastic, thinking this is definitely something that Shorewood needs, and I’m with them,” Chapman said. “I plan to pump their enthusiasm. We’ll come before the [Village Board] hopefully in the next few months with a plan coming from that ad hoc committee.”