City Council Minutes 2022 09 20 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes September 20, 2022 Page 5 of 11 Janine Fugere, Louisville, stated they have found they are very much underinsured and noted that without this kind of help many people won't be able to return to town. She encouraged a 100% rebate of use taxes. Suzanne Mckee, Louisville, stated they got their building permit today and with it came a huge bill for Use Tax. She asked Council to give back as much as possible to give those rebuilding some certainty. Brandon Garcia, Louisville, asked the Council to consider not using the prorated number and rebate 100% of the use tax. The additional money allows people to build more efficiently and to invest it into their homes and in more safety features. Frost Yarnell, Louisville, asked Council to consider a 100% rebate. She too noted that building to age in place with a first floor bedroom increased their square footage slightly. She asked Council to reconsider the prorating. Erica Bramlage, Louisville, asked Council to consider approving the program with a 100% rebate to help those that are underinsured. She noted the SBA process has been very difficult and the increase in inflation and interest rates has had an impact. Councilmember Leh asked staff if the rebates can be done without causing a taxable event. Kim Crawford stated her legal opinion is that it could be done without causing a taxable event. Councilmember Leh stated he might support a 100% rebate and not tying it to the size of the original home. Mayor Pro Tern Maloney thanked staff for finding a way to do a credit and not a rebate with tax implications. He is glad there will be a refund for those who have already paid. Mayor Pro Tern Maloney stated he is interested to possibly allowing the credit for up to a 10% above the house that burned. He added he would support allowing fire survivors to get the same benefits for tax credits and for building efficiencies when buying new lots in town. Councilmember Brown stated he would consider the 10% allowance to allow people to rebuild more efficiently. He supports the policy to get people back into their homes of roughly the same size. He would support allowing survivors to move from one lot to another burn lot and get the same benefits. Councilmember Most also supported allowing anyone who lost a home anywhere in the county to get these benefits on a new lot in Louisville and for the energy code. She would like to see this be a permanent option for anyone who loses a home to fire moving forward. She is open to the 10% variance to the original square footage.