The Petersburg Borough Assembly has approved having temporary sales tax exemption cards available for seniors with pending eligibility.
Petersburg voters passed a proposition this fall that limits the town’s senior sales tax exemption to only seniors who qualify as low-income. That eligibility is determined by the state’s income-based Senior Benefits Payment Program.
As the Borough’s qualification change goes into effect in January, seniors applying for an exemption card need to show the Petersburg Borough’s finance office proof of eligibility from the state. But some seniors have told the Borough that it’s taking the state months to process applications, and borough officials say that could delay seniors from getting their local exemption card.
Because of the backlog concern, the Assembly unanimously passed a resolution that lets the Borough issue temporary exemption cards to seniors who show proof of a pending application with the state. The resolution was originally slated for a vote in December, but the last Assembly meeting was cancelled due to weather conditions.
The move allows seniors who are waiting to hear back from the state about their eligibility to still get the sales tax exemption in the meantime. A temporary card is valid for six months at a time, or until the applicant hears back from the state.
In other borough business, the Assembly adopted a change to its code that updates the process for submitting bids. When there’s a project in the Borough, contractors submit a bid that says how much their services would cost for doing it. The borough’s code required those proposals to be submitted in a physical paper copy, but the change now allows the Borough to accept bid proposals electronically.
The Borough also set up a meeting with leadership from Tidal Network to answer community questions. A meeting was tentatively scheduled for Feb. 2 to discuss the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska’s plans for its internet venture to build towers in Petersburg.
