Developers of the Aeolian Senior Apartments and the soon-to-be refurbished Carr Central building will make a personal appeal to Warren County for a tax abatement on the finished complex and, possibly, talk up the need for the same for the old school, officials said.

County supervisors said they’ve put Jeremy Mears, who has spearheaded Texas-based Brownstone Inc.’s renovations to both buildings, on the agenda for its next working session on May 12. In December, the firm was approved for improvement-related tax breaks on its municipal property taxes based on an application first filed with the city in April 2012. It stretches over seven years and covers both Aeolian and Carr.

No application has been made for either development’s county tax bill for 2014.

Over the past month, supervisors have taken a hard line against granting any property tax breaks for so-called “Section 42” property, a designation under which types of low- and moderate-income complexes might fall. It’s named for the Internal Revenue Service code section on the topic and, in 2005, Mississippi lawmakers allowed such developments to have taxes based on the net income generated instead of the actual property value. The law has prompted legal action on various levels, from developers and local government advocacy groups alike.

The development has missed an April 1 deadline to qualify for Section 42 status, officials said. The county’s course of action hinged on the development’s eligibility to have that tax break and the improvement-related tax break at the same time, Board President Bill Lauderdale said, echoing the rest of the board’s stance that each tax break request should be taken “case by case.”

“For us to not accept property taxes that we could accept, we’ll wind up having to raise property taxes to offset what we won’t be getting,” Lauderdale said.

Supervisors said the county’s contract property appraiser, Wes Kight, had worked to get answers from the state Department of Revenue on eligibility for both tax breaks.

“I think this is the first time the state has had this question posed to them,” County Administrator John Smith said.

In a response to a question about holding both exemptions, DOR spokeswoman Kathy Waterbury didn’t address the legality of having them, but did indicate it’s up to individual county or city boards to award other exemptions, based on qualifications.

“The determination is made by the board or municipality if the Section 42 owner qualifies for that exemption and whether or not it will be awarded,” Waterbury said in an email Wednesday.

The Aeolian, at Cherry and Clay streets, reopened in December after a two-year, $8 million makeover that now houses low-income seniors in 60 luxury-style apartments. It had been vacant for about 22 years prior to the reconstruction.

Developers expect the $14 million renovation at Carr to wrap by late this year. The new complex will consist of 72 apartments in two buildings for low- and moderate-income families. Rent at both Aeolian and Carr is determined on a sliding scale based on a county’s area median income