County School Board member Kathy Lennon said Thursday that "elderly people are not going to be affected if there is a tax increase."
Trustee Bill Hullander disagreed.
He said, "There may be a program in Georgia where the elderly are exempt from the school tax, but here in Hamilton County, Tennessee, the elderly get their full tax bills just like everybody else."
The trustee said there are just 3,500 households in the county on a senior tax relief program, and even their costs would rise if the property tax rate goes up.
Trustee Hullander said in order to qualify for the program, total household income has to be less than $29,300 (counting all those in the household with incomes).
He said the state program provides about $175 toward tax relief per qualifying household. The County Commission in 2017 agreed to chip in half of the state payment for a total of around $265 of relief.
The School Board on Thursday voted 7-2 to approve a budget from Supt. Bryan Johnson that requires a 34-cent property tax increase.
County Mayor Jim Coppinger has been discussing with commission members a 15-cent increase for county general government for an overall hike of 49 cents.
Officials said 49 cents would equate to $240 per year on a $200,000 house.