February 2018
Ft. Hood, Texas; Ft.
Leavenworth, Kansas; Ft. Benjamin Harrison, Indiana; Yokota Air Base, Japan –
These are a few of the places my family was stationed while I was growing up.
My father enlisted in the US Army in 1966. Assigned to the Signal Corps, he was
sent to Officer Candidate School and made a career of the Army until he retired
in 1986. A tour in Viet Nam, a remote posting in South Korea, and responding to
the USSR’s shooting down of KAL007 killing all 269 civilians aboard were all
significant events that impacted his career and our family.
It was with these experiences in
mind that I voted to support the extension of the local property tax exemption
for Cold War Veterans. This legislation provides important relief to veterans
who served between September 2, 1945 and December 26, 1991 and were honorably
discharged. The extension lifted the prior 10-year limit, allowing Cold War
veterans to continue benefitting from the exemption.
According to the American
Community Survey, 1,141 veterans live in Pisttsford, including almost 700 who
served in the Cold War. With the recently passed legislation, Cold War veterans
can continue to receive an exemption of 10% of the assessed value of their
property, for an exemption of up to $8,000 of their property tax. Disabled
veterans’ exemption is higher, based on their disability rating from the US
Veterans Administration, and may go up to $40,000.
Military veterans and
their families incur direct and indirect financial costs from their service,
including costs associated with frequent moves, impact of those moves on their
ability to build home equity, and effects on spousal employment and earnings.
Property tax relief is the least our community can do to support veterans and
their families.
If you are a Cold War veteran and want more
information about how to qualify for the property tax exemption, contact the
Pittsford Assessor’s Office at 11 South Main Street, Pittsford; (585) 248-6230;
office hours: Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm.
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