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Voters to decide on tax relief for fallen officers' spouses Wednesday Aug 17, 2016 at 4:28 PM Aug 17, 2016 at 5:03 PM Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune @VickieAldous The spouses of firefighters and police officers who die in the line of duty could receive a property-tax exemption if Jackson County voters approve. The Jackson County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to place the issue on the Nov. 8 ballot. Commissioner Rick Dyer said offering tax relief would be a gesture of gratitude from the community for the sacrifices made by public-safety workers. He said families suffer financial hardship when public-safety workers die in the line of duty. "I think this is a fitting way to hopefully alleviate some of that hardship," Dyer said. Last spring, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 1513, which allows counties to provide property-tax exemptions on up to $250,000 of assessed property value for surviving spouses of fire and law enforcement personnel. The spouse cannot have remarried. The exemption could save a surviving spouse with a home assessed at $250,000 from $2,500 to $2,900 annually, depending on the location of the property in the county, according to Jackson County officials. The tax exemption would cover all taxing jurisdictions in the county. Although she voted to put the proposed property-tax exemption before voters, Commissioner Colleen Roberts had some misgivings about the proposal. Roberts noted spouses of a wide variety of public safety officers would be eligible. Volunteer and paid firefighters, fire prevention and investigation officers and law enforcement personnel who work in schools, mass transit and airports are included under the state criteria. "The amount of qualifiers is very broad. The list is huge. I question that," she said. Roberts said other taxpayers will have to make up the difference if spouses of fallen public safety workers don't pay property taxes. Roberts said she had talked to some local residents who said they were on fixed incomes and faced financial hardship after their spouses died, but they would not be eligible because the spouses weren't public-safety workers. Saying he fully supports the property-tax exemption, Commissioner Doug Breidenthal said public-safety workers in a broad range of settings — including schools, buses and airports — are in danger because of terrorist attacks and mass shootings. He pointed to the 2015 mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg as an example. "Things are not the same in our country as they were 20 years ago," Breidenthal said. He said public-safety workers go to work every day knowing they may have to lay down their lives to protect the public. Breidenthal said he would like the state criteria for covered workers to be expanded to include those who battle wildfires. Spouses of fallen public-safety workers would have to reapply each year for a tax exemption. Among other criteria, spouses would have to submit a letter from the head of the agency where the fallen person worked stating the death occurred in the line of duty, said Jackson County Counsel Joel Benton. County officials said there is no estimate of the total cost in reduced tax revenue because no one knows how many spouses could apply. According to Oregon fallen police and firefighter memorials, since 1970 about 70 police officers and 55 fire-service professionals have died in the line of duty. Since 1995, about 25 police officers and 30 fire-service professionals have died statewide. Staff reporter Vickie Aldous can be reached at 541-776-4486 or [email protected]. Follow her at www.twitter.com/VickieAldous.