Woodbury County wants to provide tax relief for families of fallen heroes

Property tax sign on a house model. (iStock / Getty Images Plus)

Woodbury County supervisors are seeking state approval of a new law that would provide tax relief to the families of fallen first responders and officers.

The tax-relief proposal would eliminate property taxes for the surviving family members of police officers and first responders killed in the line of duty.

Woodbury County Supervisors Jeremy Taylor and Daniel Bittinger II have led the effort to approve the measure. At a Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, members unanimously approved sending a letter to the Iowa Legislature asking for legislative approval to create the new tax law.

Taylor said the effort is designed to ease the burden on the families of killed first responders and officers.

“We can shoulder this burden, not your family. You shouldered enough,” Taylor said.

Taylor said part of the inspiration for the proposal came from a military policy that provides other forms of tax relief for the families of fallen members of the Armed Forces.

Five years ago, the county made a similar decision to extend health insurance benefits to the families of first responders and officers who died on the job so their survivors wouldn’t be left without coverage.

DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST

Taylor said working on those policies with the families of fallen first responders and officers made him realize the true impact of their sacrifices.

“Working with those families, you just come to realize those families have suffered and sacrificed more than is imaginable and they shouldn’t have to continue to make that sacrifice thereafter,” Taylor said. “Especially when it comes to something like property taxes.”

According to Taylor, Republican state lawmakers Rep. Bob Henderson and Sen. Kevin Alons will introduce companion bills that would allow Woodbury County to implement the tax relief.

Under state law, local officials cannot offer an abatement or refund of property taxes without enabling legislation. If such legislation is passed, other Iowa counties would not be required to pass a law similar to that of Woodbury County, but they would have the option to do so.

If lawmakers approve the concept, the Woodbury County board would still need to officially pass the measure. The property tax abatement would only apply to the immediate family members of the fallen heroes and would expire upon the sale of the property.

Taylor said the proposal is a way to support the families who made the ultimate sacrifice without adding to the state’s expenses.

“To us, this is a rare ‘win-win.’ This costs the state of Iowa no money. This mandates nothing. This honors a sacrifice,” the letter to lawmakers reads.

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

The post Woodbury County wants to provide tax relief for families of fallen heroes appeared first on Iowa Capital Dispatch .