By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
State Police in the Troop D area had a busy Memorial Day, but one in which there were no fatalities.
"We worked 18 accidents in our eight counties, but there were no fatalities," said Lt. Tommy Wicker of Troop D.
According to Wicker, there were 215 speeding arrests. In addition there were 31 DWI arrests and two arrests for DUI (under age).
There were 29 arrests for hazardous violations and 102 for non-hazardous violations.
In all, according to Wicker, there were 1,010 contacts over the weekend 6 p.m. Friday through midnight Monday), including arrests and warnings.
There were two campaigns under way during the holiday weekend. One was the usual concentration of troopers to stop speeders and DWI's. The other was the "America Buckles Children" campaign.
Over the holiday weekend only, there were 80 arrests for seat belt violations and 17 arrests for child restraint violations in Troop 2.
"America Buckles Children" was actually a week-long campaign, from May 21-28. Wicker said that during the entire week, there were 105 seat belt arrests, and 21 arrests for child restraint violations.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
As St. Francis County Assessor, Craig Jones agrees that there are still a lot of people who don't understand the full implications of the property tax amendment passed by voters last November.
"It's complicated, complicated," conceded Jones. He has been visiting city councils and civic groups around the county, trying to explain. He's worried that he still isn't reaching enough people.
The amendment was put on the ballot as an alternative to a proposal to do away with property taxes altogether.
"The anti-tax referendum that people were signing -- the legislators decided this would not be good for the schools. What they came up with was a compromise, a deal where they would raise sales tax by a half cent, and get a $300 deduction off their taxes. In November of 2000, it passed."
It sounds simple so far, but doesn't stay that way.
"Starting in January of 2001, if the property was in your name, or you had a life estate (a person can live in a house and deed to others but by retaining a life estate, that person can live in that house until he or she passes away) you get the credit."
By Oct. 31 of this year, property owners must have notified the assessor's office that "'This is my house and I need my credit.' After Oct. 31 you're out of luck. You don't get the credit. You can apply for it next year," Jones said.
Many, possibly most, people have notified the assessor's office, though they may not realize it. If they received a letter from the assessor, telling them what their assessment was, and returned it, they have applied. People who aren't sure can still contact Jones or anyone in his office.
One of the biggest misunderstandings, according to Jones, is the belief that one's property tax has to be at least $300 before the exemption can be claimed.
"If your taxes are $50, you still get the credit. If your taxes are $25, you still get the credit," he said. "The thing about it is, this year we tried our best to get everybody on. If your tax is $250, and you have an adjacent lot, you actually get the break on that adjacent lot, too."
That's for folks in town. Out in the county, the rule is different.
"Next year, if you have a house on 60 acres, you may get less. The law states (out in the county) you get a house and five acres. Anything over five acres, you don't get it. In the city you get a house and however many lots you have (as long as they are adjacent, up to $300)."
He said people who own adjacent lots need to notify the assessor's office. He said he knows it's confusing.
"This year we're going to go back and try to fix things. When we started this thing in January, there were no rules and regulations on this deal. The legislature passed rules in the past session, so we have something to go by. So some folks will notice next year, they didn't get as much credit as they did this year. And others may get more."
He said some people have called and asked if their tax exemption can be applied toward their personal taxes. "We can't do that. We can't apply it to personal property, we can't apply it to another parcel."
Another misunderstanding is that the exemption is a one-time thing.
"This thing is every year, from now on. I mean, until they come back and change the constitution, this thing is going to have to go on every year. There's no way to stop it," Jones said.
People over 65 will get the tax break. Also, once the current reappraisal is finished, in 2002, those over 65 or disabled will have their taxes frozen.
"If nothing is added to your house, your taxes won't go up any more, no matter what."
There is another group of people who might be confused about what to do -- those whose property taxes are figured in their mortgage payments.
"You need to contact your mortgage company," said Jones. "They (the mortgage companies) don't know anything about it because they're up in New York or California or San Antonio, wherever. Let's say they go to pay your taxes. They're expecting to pay $700. They only pay $400. There's $300 floating around somewhere. You need to contact them to ask what they're going to do with that money. Are they going to apply it to your principle? Are they going to refund it back because of your escrow building up over a certain amount? You just need to find out what's going on with it."
The reappraisal that is going on may cause some people's taxes to go up, but not by much, said Jones.
"That $300 credit, by the time all is said and done, will knock out whatever the reappraisal did to folks, usually."
He also reminded everyone that May 31 is the assessment deadline for personal property.
"If you don't assess before May 31, you're going to get a 10 percent late assessment penalty on your personal property. That counts not only for individuals but also for businesses. That's been a law for -- I don't know, 20 or 30 years."
Early voter turnout in next Tuesday's school millage election continues to be strong according to St. Francis County Clerk Elizabeth Smith.
According to Smith 476 early ballots have been cast as of this morning and she said that her office had also handed out 47 carry-out absentee ballots with more requests for absentee ballots being handled today.
"We've had a good response from voters so far. There has been a pretty steady stream of people coming in and voting. We are also getting a number of people requesting absentee ballots," said Smith.
Early voting will continue in the County Clerk's office at the courthouse from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. Voting will also be held Saturday, June 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the clerk's office.