“In addition,” Schaeffer added, “it would create a nightmare for our taxpayer by creating a secured loan relationship, and it is fraught with many eventualities that may trigger a tax sale on the property that they wouldn’t be aware of.”

Schaeffer said she didn’t believe the county government should “be in the business of property ownership,” and perceived the law to be “a tax loan rather than a tax deferral.”

The law in question would conditionally defer property taxes for individuals who meet a set of qualifications, but it would put a lien on the property in question to do so. According to the law, deferrals would require residents using this legal avenue to pay interest on their outstanding debt at half the rate they would pay if their taxes were late.

“We don’t want to rob them of, in most cases, their most valuable asset that they worked their whole life to acquire,” Schaeffer said regarding taxpayers and their property.

Schaeffer also talked about a tax relief system the county already has in place — the Low Income Abatement/Homeowner’s Tax Credit or Circuit Breaker. According to the county’s website, the reason for the abatement is “to provide general property tax relief to older taxpayers who have income below statutorily mandated levels and who own their residence.”

“It’s true tax relief,” Schaeffer said. “It’s an abatement, they don’t owe anything on it, it relieves that burden if they qualify.”

On Council Member Gina Worthen’s request, Schaeffer listed qualifications for the program. Applicants must file for the relief by September unless the council decides they can apply by the end of November. Relief recipients also must make less than $35,807 per year.

“We lobbied the legislature, during this bill, that they just raise that to 45,000,” Schaeffer said. “They thought this was a better idea.”

Though the council voted not to allow tax deferrals under the new method for the next few years, the law states that, starting January of 2025, counties “shall” defer tax under the new code, not leaving room for the legislative dissent expressed Tuesday.

According to Schaeffer, there is plenty that should be done before the deferral process is no longer optional.

“There are at least six instances that could trigger tax sale because of that lien,” Schaeffer said. “There’s at least six eventualities that we have to iron out and work on through the legislative process so that hopefully by 2025 when we ‘shall,’ that we’ll have a better bill.”