Property tax payments, due by Nov. 15, will be a new financial burden for some Clatsop County homeowners.

Approximately 5,000 senior and disabled homeowners were removed from the Property Tax Deferral Program because of changes made by the 2011 Oregon Legislature and Oregon Department of Revenue. The program had allowed lower income senior and disabled homeowners to borrow money from the state to pay the annual property tax. The state then placed a lien on the property, to be paid back, with interest, when the property was sold.

In Clatsop County alone, this legislative action negatively impacted more than 60 homeowners, who had previously been participants in the deferral program.

The Alliance of Vulnerable Homeowners was founded in 2011 to advocate on behalf of former and current participants in Oregons Senior and Disabled Tax Deferral Program. It is an all-volunteer program, with no cost to join, and membership is open to all Oregonians who support the efforts of senior and disabled citizens to restore deferral rights.

Please visit our website at www.vulnerablehomeowners.org

Im the Clatsop County coordinator for the alliance, and currently engaged in gathering information from former participants. Those who have not yet been contacted may call me weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. until Oct. 10 at 503-325-8181.

You can also reach the alliance by email at vulnerablehomeowners@gmail.com