Vanita Hullander announces candidacy for Catoosa County commission District 3

change the voters can trust, Hullander said she will immediately call for lowering taxes on senior citizens. While voters recently approved a limited, means-tested school tax exemption for residents older than 65 who earn less than $30,000 in income a year, seniors must still wait till the age of 75 to claim a 100% exemption from school taxes, she said. The income requirement also leaves out many seniors who may be struggling to make ends meet. Hullander said she will also push for an expansion of the 2009 Local County Tax Exemption eligible to seniors 62 and older who make less than $20,000 yearly. The exemption is a total county tax exemption.

“The age for total exemption on school taxes needs to be lowered,” Hullander said, “if not to 65, then at least 70. And I would like to see the income limit on the county tax exemption for seniors raised to $30,000, maybe even as high as $35,000. What the government doesn’t seem to understand is that seniors living on $20,000 or $30,000 a year are not living large. They’re struggling.”

Hullander said she will also push for more government accountability and transparency. Her opponent, Jim Cutler, voted for new public speaking procedures at county commission meetings that some critics have found burdensome, she said. Upon assuming office, she will seek to return county commission procedures to normal order, she said.

“I want to hear what the public has to say,” Hullander said. “I am a person of principle and structure. I make decisions on evidence-based research. And I will consider all sides before casting a vote.”

Voters can contact Hullander at 423-987-6139 or vhullander@aol.com.