Douglas County Commission approves program to offer tax relief for homes damaged in May tornado

Some Douglas County residents whose homes were damaged during the May 28 tornado will receive tax relief from the county government.

The Douglas County Commission on Wednesday approved the creation of a program that gives County Appraiser Steven Miles the ongoing authority to process and approve applications for tax abatements to those residents. The program is slightly different from what the commission was originally considering, which would have called for the commissioners themselves to give final approval to batches of applications.

The abatements, which are property tax reductions, vary for each property based on the amount of their assessed damage. To qualify for the abatements, Miles said a property’s estimated repair cost must equal at least half of the property’s fair market value.