Applications for the senior property tax freeze program won't be available for a couple more weeks, but the Montgomery County Trustee's Office is already getting a taste of the public interest generated from the new program.

Deputy trustees were inundated with an average of 20 calls per day last week regarding the program.

The Trustee's Office will begin to accept applications April 1, though the deadline is not until March 2009 to qualify for the 2008-09 tax amount.

Trustee Brenda Radford said she was not surprised by the number of calls.

Radford estimates more than 3,400 households could qualify for the tax freeze program.

Applicants will be required to set up appointments to determine their eligibility due to the anticipated high volume of applications.

Radford said her department will need to hire two full-time deputies who will solely focus on tax freeze applications. The two employees will cost $44,262 and an additional $12,393 for benefits.

She plans to meet with the Davidson County trustee this week to see how it's been handling the tax freeze workload since October 2007. Albeit a larger county, Davidson had to hire five employees and it might have to hire a few more, Radford said.

When Radford set up an appointment with the Davidson County trustee, she recalled the secretary told her "be ready to hire more people."

Eligible applicants for the tax freeze program must be at least 65 years old and have a combined household income of less than $31,780.

Tax payers must reapply every year. If they fail to qualify one year, the tax amount will be readjusted, Radford said.

Radford said the tax freeze will not replace the state tax relief program.

Citizens who become eligible for the tax freeze can also qualify to receive the state's tax relief rebates, she said.

April 7 is the deadline to apply for the 2007 tax relief program.

The tax freeze will also not affect the the home's appraisal, Radford said.

"Tax appraisals will continue to appreciate over the years, in reality, but it is the tax amount that is frozen," she said.

The state Legislature created the Property Tax Freeze Program in June 2007, after voters across the state resoundingly approved it in a referendum the previous year.

The Montgomery County commission unanimously approved the program last Monday, which will also require the Budget Committee to conduct a cost-benefit analysis each year and present the results to the commission.

State law allows commissioners to terminate the program at any time through a separate resolution.

For more information, contact the Trustee's Office at 648-5717.

Nate Karlin covers county government, the School Board and diversity. He can be reached at 245-0276 or by e-mail at natekarlin@theleafchronicle.com.

Originally published March 15, 2008