|
APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE-ATM 2018
<br /> Article 6: Appropriate for Senior Services Program
<br /> Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation
<br /> none IP
<br /> This article was, initially, to be a request for an appropriation for the Town's Senior Service Program of
<br /> $30,000, an amount level-funded from the FY2018 request. Because there is a substantial projected car-
<br /> ryover balance at the end of the fiscal year of over $50,000, which should be more than sufficient to fund
<br /> the program needs for FY2019, it is anticipated that,instead,this article will be indefinitely postponed.
<br /> The Senior Service Program
<br /> Since 2006, the Town has operated its own Senior Service Program, which allows low to moderate in-
<br /> come seniors (age 60 and over) to perform volunteer work for the Town in exchange for a reduction in
<br /> their property tax. The Town adopted this program, in substitution for a similar program previously oper-
<br /> ated under G.L. c. 59, § 5K, to allow it more flexibility in setting the age criteria for participation, the
<br /> wage rate, and the total amount of credit allowed.
<br /> For more information on the Senior Service Program and other property tax relief options available to
<br /> seniors, including exemptions and opportunities for deferral,please refer to Appendix D.
<br /> Benefits and Criteria for Participation
<br /> Current income eligibility criteria are set forth in Appendix D. Participants may receive property tax re-
<br /> ductions under this program in addition to any other exemption for which they qualify, such as the $1,000
<br /> Clause 41C exemption, and may also defer the balance of their taxes under Clause 41A if they are eligible
<br /> to do so. The maximum amount of the tax reduction that may be earned, under guidelines established by
<br /> the Selectmen and amended in June 2017, is $1,210/year(110 hours at$11.00 per hour) for an individual
<br /> and $1,540/year (140 hours at $11.00 per hour) for a two-person household toward their property tax
<br /> bills.
<br /> Funding Requirements and Requested Appropriation
<br /> The program operates as a continuing balance account, and unexpended funds carry over from year to
<br /> year. When first established in FY2007, the program was funded at $25,000, an amount slightly higher
<br /> than the average annual amount that had been expended from an overlay account under the pre-existing
<br /> §5K program during the 2004-2006 fiscal years. In anticipation of higher usage, the annual appropriation
<br /> was subsequently increased over time from$36,000 in FY2007 to $45,000 in FY2010.
<br /> This level of funding, however, proved to be more than required to allow the Town to admit all eligible
<br /> applicants who wished to participate in the program. Although the wage level was increased from $8.50
<br /> to $9.50 in FY2014, and income thresholds have also been increased, participation has steadily declined
<br /> from a high of 34 in FY2007-2008 to 23 in FY2015-2016, to 16 in FY2017, and just 15 in FY2018.
<br /> As recommended by this Committee in its report to 2017 Annual Town Meeting, the Board of Selectmen
<br /> last year again enhanced the program, better aligning it with the Massachusetts "Senior Circuit Breaker"
<br /> Tax Credit, increasing gross income requirements to $57,000 for single taxpayer and $86,000 for a two-
<br /> person household, increasing the hourly wage rate to $11.00 per hour, and increasing the total amount
<br /> which may be earned. Although these changes have not yet resulted in increased participation, efforts will
<br /> be made going forward to make the availability of this worthwhile program more widely known.
<br /> The projected carry over balance of more than $50,000 should be sufficient to fund the program needs for
<br /> FY2019.
<br /> 24
<br />
|