SALEM -- The Oregon Senate is expected to vote this week on a proposal to give a reprieve to more than 1,600 people dropped from a property tax deferral program intended to help seniors and people with disabilities stay in their homes.
The decades-old program had faced a shortfall, and the Legislature last year voted to tighten the eligibility requirements. As a result, the number of participants was cut in half to about 5,000. With little notice, thousands of people were required to pay property taxes they hadn't anticipated.
Lawmakers are now considering a measure that would allow people to stay in the program for two years if they were dropped from it solely because they have a reverse mortgage.
