Seniors seeking tax break

MARBLE FALLS, Texas (KXAN) - The City of Marble Falls raised taxes by 28 percent in 2008 and some seniors said this is forcing them to go without necessities.

Kay Buckley, 65, is just one of many seniors stuck making a difficult decision.

"It's either get medical treatment or pay taxes," said Buckley.

Buckley suffers from diabetes and back pain and needs to take prescription pills.

She lives on a fixed income, getting only $800 a month. 

She said pricey pills weren't a problem until the city increased taxes two years ago.

"It's heartbreaking because I'm in pain all the time and there's something that can be done about it, there's just no money to do it," Buckley explained.

Seniors and disabled residents like Buckley took their concerns to the council .

"We pleaded with them and they didn't listen at all," said Kay Renick, a senior citizen also living on a fixed income.

After council turned a deaf ear, Renick decided to do something to help struggling senior citizens in the area.

She pounded pavement for more than two months, going door-to-door asking registered voters to sign a petition to get a $50,000 homestead exemption put on the ballot.

Twenty percent of registered voters signed, putting the proposition on the May ballot.

Councilmembers, however, said seniors have bad timing.

"If you think about it, we're all on a fixed income," said David Ives, councilmember.  "I only get X amount a month."

David wants Renick and Buckley to realize the city's budget is already tight and to consider that the tax burden will get shifted to other working families if the proposition passes.

"They've got to do what they've got to do. We have to do what we have to do," Renick said.

For Buckley, that means finding a way to get on top of her bills.