Franklin County Assessor: You may be eligible for tax exemptions

Many of you qualify for tax exemptions and tax discounts and may not know it.

That's according to Franklin County Assessor John Rosenau who says he'd like to double or triple the amount of people taking advantage of certain programs.

"Some seniors that are 61 or older with certain incomes and that income is increasing this year as of August 1. The legislature really raised that up." Rosenau said.

Rosenau says disabled veterans and disabled individuals are eligible for discounts and exemptions as well.

"Now there's income qualifying requirements, but we encourage people to call and ask because if you don't ask, you don't know."

Rosenau encourages people to get on the Franklin County website to learn more.

"We've got just a massive amount of information there for you and contact information."

The website also contains information on a number of other topics such as appraisals.

"We do what's called a mass appraisal where there are nearly 40,000 parcels. We do a mass appraisal of those every year. We break the county into six pieces. And once every six years, we do a different piece. So, we physically are out in the field, putting eyes, maybe even touching the side of a building." Rosenau said.

Making sure the appraisals of all properties are fair and equitable is a crucial part of the process so when taxing districts disclose their budgets, the county assessor calculates the budget in reference to the assessed values of the property.

"And then we can tell the individuals, this is what your cost is per 1,000 (dollars) for your share of the taxes. We've seen rapid increases the last few years. It has been atrocious for the price increases. And if you're selling, that's great. If you're buying, it's not so fun."

Rosenau reminds people that if you can't get on the website, you can always call the assessor's office at 509-545-3506 to learn more.

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