In December, Burlington city council approved a Heritage Property Tax Rebate Program.
This program will allow eligible property owners who apply to receive a 20 per cent rebate for the municipal and educational portion of property taxes.
There are 44 eligible designated residential properties in Burlington. If all of those owners applied for the rebate, the total would be about $20,500 in city funding for 2014.
The average rebate will be just under $700 for 2014.
The rebate program was proposed in a report called A New Approach to Conserving Burlington's Heritage created by Heritage Burlington in 2012. City council supported the report, based on the idea that funding requests for initiatives would come back for consideration.
Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring believes the support of this program shows city council is committed to helping designated homeowners maintain their properties. There's an old saying, "You don't know where you're going unless you know where you've been." Heritage properties offer a glimpse into a different time in our city and are a reminder of the dedication of previous generations of residents in the creation of this great city. These homes also add to the character and quality of place for Burlington.
Burlington city council will be considering increasing the rebate to 25 per cent in the upcoming 2015 budget deliberations. The accompanying budget request is $25,500. Goldring supports this request, but will be looking for an update about whether the rebate has facilitated an increase in designated residential properties.
This article originally appeared on burlingtonmayor.com here.
