No freeze on valuations in LCHD No. 1

Last week, the Vindicator published a story regarding a freeze on the valuation of taxes within the Liberty County Hospital District No. 1, based on information provided by proponents of the new hospital and the district itself. This information was recently disseminated via allianceforbettercare.com and in community meetings supporting the proposed new facility in Liberty and clinic in Dayton. Unfortunately, it appears that information is incorrect and that there is no freeze available to taxpayers over the age of 65.
The Vindicator received a statement from Lana McCarty, Chief Appraiser of the Liberty County Central Appraisal District, regarding that previous report.
"The Liberty County Hospital District does offer an Over-65 Homestead exemption in the amount of $25,000 as well as a Disabled Persons Homestead exemption of $10,000. These exemptions are taken off of the assessed value thereby reducing the taxable value of the property by the amount of the exemption. The Liberty County Hospital District does not however have a tax freeze available for Over-65 or Disabled Persons Homesteads. In other words, the taxable value of your Over-65 or Disabled Person Homestead will not be frozen at any set value and may go up or down depending on market conditions," said McCarty.
Since we were made aware of the mistake, we reached out to LCHD No. 1 and President Bruce Stratton, who acknowledged the error and apologized for any misunderstanding. He also provided a short letter to the editor clarifying the situation, which appears on the Viewpoints page of this week's edition.