(This story has been updated to reflect new information from the Rowan County Board of Elections.)

SALISBURY — Bobby Kemp announced that he intends to run as a write-in candidate for the Rowan County Board of Commissioners during the public comment period of Monday’s commissioner meeting.

After speaking at the commissioner meetings multiple times this year about the need for increased awareness of the difficulty of rising tax costs on the county’s senior, disabled and veteran population, Kemp, a Republican, decided that he would rather be speaking from behind the commissioners’ desk than from the public podium.

“I don’t know what will happen with (the election). Again, I’m just trying to let the people be aware that we need help. Somewhere along the line, somebody’s going to say, ‘Mr. Kemp was right when he came and told us about this.’ I talked to a young couple, who was glad to sign my petition for me, and they said, ‘We’re going to buy a house, but we can’t afford a house payment, pay the property taxes, the homeowners’ insurance. We don’t have the income to do that, so we’re going to have to rent,” said Kemp on Monday.

Kemp appeared before the commissioners for the first time during the Feb. 5 meeting and spoke about the toll that rising tax bills had taken on him personally. During that meeting, he said that he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2012, which caused him to be unable to work. Between the medical bills, the loss of income and a six-month delay in his disability check, Kemp said that the increased burden cleared out his savings.

“Today, I want to come to you as our first line of defense. You’re our commissioners here in Rowan County and you were voted in by the people because they trusted you and believed in you. I voted for some of you. And today I want to be here on behalf of seniors, veterans and disabled, of which I am one of all three,” said Kemp in February.

Since appearing at the February meeting, Kemp said that he has spoken with both the commissioners and state legislators about what kind of tax relief is possible and how that could be implemented.

Specific tax relief classes are defined at the state level, so only the state government can decide whether or not to provide tax relief programs, the county government cannot, said Chairman Greg Edds after Kemp’s comment period.

The three tax relief programs that the state currently offers are aimed at the three populations Kemp mentioned, veterans, seniors and disabled.

People over the age of 65 or who are totally and permanently disabled can have the greater of 50 percent or $25,000 of their property valuation excluded from their taxes. People over the age of 65 or who are totally and permanently disabled can also receive up to a five-percent deferral on their property taxes.

Veterans who have a total and permanent service-related disability or their surviving spouses can have the first $45,000 of property valuation excluded from taxes.

The applications for all of the exemptions can be found on the county tax assessor’s webpage at https://www.rowancountync.gov/482/Exemptions.

Although the county government does not control specific relief programs, Kemp noted that the commissioners have “100 percent responsibility over the tax rate.”

To be considered official, write-in candidates need to secure a petition with 100 verifiable signatures supporting their candidacy and submit them to the Rowan County Board of Elections by noon on Wednesday. Elections Director Sharon Main confirmed that Kemp had fulfilled the requirements and would be considered the only valid write-in candidate on the ballot.