Two bills aimed at making it easier for more lower-income people and those on fixed incomes to obtain property tax credits were deferred for a month by the City Council Budget Committee yesterday.

Council Budget Chairman Nestor Garcia said he wants several committee members who are on the Mainland this week to be on hand for the discussion.

The bills are designed to allow more owner-occupants to qualify for the low-income tax credit, also known as a "circuit breaker."

To qualify now, a family must make no more than $50,000 in total income. The tax credit is the amount a family pays in property tax that is greater than 4 percent of total income. The bills call for loosening those requirements.

The deadline to qualify for tax credits is Sept. 30 each year.