To the Editor:

There has been much discussion surrounding the proposed property tax freeze for seniors aged 62 and up in Howard County. This initiative aims to protect seniors on fixed incomes from rising property taxes, providing much-needed financial stability. After reviewing Missouri Statute 137.1050, I’ve confirmed that moving forward with this initiative requires a citizen-led petition to place the measure on a future ballot for a public vote.

The process is straightforward but requires community effort:

• The petition must be signed by at least 5% of registered voters in Howard County.

• Once the required signatures are collected, the petition must be submitted to the county governing body, which will then be required to hold a referendum on the tax freeze.

To move forward, we need a grassroots effort to collect a minimum of 245 signatures from registered voters. To ensure validity, MO Tax Relief Now recommends collecting at least 269 signatures.

A few key requirements:

✔️ Each page of signatures must be legally notarized; this can be done at your local bank. For every 10 signatures you collect, go to the bank and have them notarize your sheet.

✔️ Copies should be kept before submitting them to the County Election Clerk.

✔️ We will collect the copies and submit all of them to the County Clerk at once.

Moving forward with this petition I invite community members to join the effort. If you are interested in helping collect signatures or learning more, please reach out. The more voices we have, the stronger our impact.

This decision ultimately belongs to Howard County voters, and a referendum ensures that the community gets to decide. Let’s work together to make sure seniors are heard and that the county makes an informed, balanced decision.

Sincerely,
Rebbecca Fenton