HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-01-09-TDES-min Meeting Minutes
Selectman's Tax Deferral and Exemption Study Committee
A meeting of the Tax Deferral and Exemption Study Committee was called to order at 7:00 PM on
January 9, 2017 in Room 111,in Lexington Town Hall.
Members present were: Vicki Blier,Pat Costello, Dick Bair,Pam Joshi,potential member Nicola Rinaldi,
and Appropriation Committee liaison John Bartenstein.
The purposes of the meeting:
1. Discuss current and potential deferral and exemption qualification limits
2. Discuss any exemption legislation not currently adopted by Lexington
3. Discuss and initiate outreach efforts.
Two Committee Votes were taken:
1. Committee voted unanimously to not raise $70.000 gross income limit for Deferrals.
2. Committee voted unanimously to defer discussion of any Exemption legislation (general laws)
not currently adopted by Lexington until after our upcoming outreach.
Summary of Discussions:
Vicki summarized her January 9 conversation with Sandy Pantedemos of the Assessor's Office. Numbers
of Tax Deferrals remained steady at about 28 a year but increased in FY2016 to 43 before the income
limit was raised. FY2017 will be the first year with the new $70K income threshold. Many new requests
for deferral information are initiated by children on behalf of aging parents and newest applicants are
younger and less afraid of financial instruments. A majority of trusts satisfy the legal requirement for
beneficial interest. John noted that"cumulative net deferrals"had been in a moderate range around
S 1.2M over several years without rising dramatically.
Also discussed was community outreach to increase awareness of the deferral program. In addition to
sending the "FY 2017 Property Tax Relief Programs"brochure to Lexington accountants, tax preparers,
and lawyers,we discussed development of a training program on property tax relief and programs that
have income qualifications, to raise awareness among social outreach staff and volunteers from the
Lexington Interfaith Clergy Association(LICA) and other organizations so they can bring the information
to their communities.
Action items from the meeting:
1. Dick Bair: contact LICA, starting with pastor of Lexington Catholic Community to begin
discussion of proposed outreach and schedule. Get list of key contacts at LICA.
2. Vicki and Nicola: begin to prepare training materials in advance of proposed outreach training
3. Vicki:prepare spreadsheet to track key contacts and relevant information to prepare training.
4. John Bartenstein: explore with the Assessor's Office "what is the maximum cumulative amount
of Deferrals the Town would be uncomfortable exceeding?"
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The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Next Meeting: TBD.
Respectfully submitted on January 11, 2017.
Dick Bair
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