LEWISTON – State rules are not much help when it comes to giving breaks on property taxes, according to city officials.

City Administrator Jim Bennett said the city would like to give Lewiston seniors a Homestead exemption-like break on their property taxes but state law makes it difficult.

“The only way we can do it now is by offering the same break to renters as we do to property tax payers,” Bennett said. “We don’t think that will have much support.”

The city first began discussing the idea of a locally funded tax discount in 2006, after the councilors at the time had suspended planned property revaluation.

Bennett said the city would like to create a circuit breaker for Lewiston seniors, refunding some of their property taxes. A 2006 state law allowed cities and towns to create those kinds of discounts as long as the discount applied equally to land owners and renters. In Lewiston, 1,930 seniors qualify for refunds from the state – about 1,077 of them are property tax payers and the rest pay rent.

A Lewiston program would be modeled after the state’s circuit breaker program, but it would be funded by the city. Money to pay for the discounts would have to come out of the city’s general fund – specifically property taxes.

“So we’d be in the situation where are raising other people’s property taxes to give a break to renters,” Bennett said. “We don’t think people would mind giving a break on property taxes to elderly taxpayers, but they would mind if that were going to renters.”

Bennett said city staff is still working with the system and might be able to make long-term residency in Lewiston a requirement, favoring elders who have lived in Lewiston for many years. Most would likely be property owners.

And Bennett said a second state law lets cities give seniors who volunteer for community service a $750 break on their property taxes.

“That has other problems,” Bennett said. “Namely, we have to pay for this ourselves, too. There’s no magic solution here. If we find a way to lower taxes for seniors, the property taxes for everyone else are going to see a bump.”

But councilors said they liked that idea, and directed Bennett to bring back more details.

“For some people, it’s not easy to ask for help – even if you’re asking for help from the city,” Councilor Tom Peters said. “But this way, you’re not asking for help. By volunteering, you’re actually earning that $750.”