[Adopted 10-17-2006 by Ord. No. 06-11; amended in its entirety 10-21-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-05]
The Town Council finds a legitimate interest in providing owner-occupied dwelling units with a reduction in real estate property taxes and hereby adopts a uniform procedure for the application of the homestead exemption.
The Town Administrator, upon approval of the Town Council, is hereby authorized to annually fix the amount of the homestead exemption with respect to the assessed value on taxable owner-occupied real property used for residential purposes and to grant homestead exemptions to such owner-occupied residential real estate in an amount not to exceed 35% of the assessed value.
Any such exemption shall only apply to residential property improved with a dwelling house. Any such owner-occupied dwelling house shall consist of no more than five dwelling units. This exemption shall not apply to any mixed-use properties containing partial commercial or business uses and shall not apply to vacant land.
Applicants for the homestead exemption shall submit completed application forms to the office of the Tax Assessor on or before April 15 of the tax year for which the exemption is sought. In order to qualify and apply for the homestead exemption, the taxpayer must be the owner of record of the subject property on or before December 31 of the year immediately preceding the application. For illustrative purposes, taxpayers seeking the homestead exemption for the 2014 tax year, with the first quarterly tax payment due by July 31, 2014, must be the owner of record on or before December 31, 2013, and must file the application on or before April 15, 2014. Any application made after the April 15 deadline shall not be considered valid for an exemption or an abatement in that tax year. The applications shall be available at the office of the Tax Assessor and shall be in a form and substance approved by the Town Solicitor. The Tax Assessor, in his/her sole discretion, shall be authorized to reject any incomplete or inaccurate applications. If the application is rejected, the homeowner/taxpayer may reapply for the exemption the following year.