Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-01-04-REPSC-minResidential Exemption Policy Study Committee (Ad Hoc) Friday, January 4, 2019 Hudson Room, Cary Memorial Building Meeting Minutes Attendance: Mark Andersen Chair; Sara Bothwell Allen, Vicki Blier, Howard Cloth, Katie Cutler, Thomas Whelan, John Zhao and Board of Selectman Liaison Joe Pato; Guest Robert Pressman Mr. Andersen called the meeting to order at 8:03am. Mr. Zhao volunteered to record the meeting minutes Collaborative Writing Section for Final Report To get hands-on time before discussion, Mr. Andersen moved report review up and asked members to review and edit the sections of the draft report. Ms. Blier suggested not to focus on grammar but the contents. When asked about how many pages the final report might have, Mr. Andersen said about 160. Mr. Pato said the final report needs an executive summary. Mr. Cloth asked whether the committee reached a consensus on RE, Mr. Andersen answered "No", and commented that after reviewing the draft sections, the committee would talk about M.T. in the remaining time first, and there was no RE debate on agenda for this meeting. Mr. Pato added that the committee didn't have to reach consensus, but that there is value to the Board if you do. It is best if you do more than just write-up the issues. We want you to make a recommendation, even if it is a split recommendation. Ms. Cutler asked whether committee members need to join Mr. Andersen for the presentation to the Board of Selectmen on Monday of 1/7. Mr. Pato said the topic of Residential Tax Exemption Proposals would be at 7:25pm. Ms. Blier said we could watch on TV. (The Committee members collected the draft report to edited and comment.) Preparation for board of Selectmen discussion of possible warrant article Mr. Andersen projected the presentation on the screen and asked members to focus on the two proposals, Proposal #1 Circuit Breaker Style Means -Tested Exemption and Proposal #2 Octogenarian Means -Tested Tax Exemption. Mr. Whelan commented on the five-year Residency requirement (rental or ownership), said that we didn't want to encourage people to rent for 4 years and then buy a house to meet the requirement. Mr. Andersen commented that we could put "2 years continuous". Ms. Bothwell Allen asked about widow penalty and Mr. Andersen replied that we tried to write proposals to eliminate the widow penalty. After reviewing, Mr. Andersen asked the committee members whether they would support the two proposals on a standalone basis and not compared to other proposals. All committee members said they supported both in concept, calling out that the details need to be worked out. Mr. Cloth commented that percentage reduction for octogenarian MT proposal was confusing, it would be better to have similar one like Texas and perhaps others where property taxes are frozen after a certain age. Ms. Blier asked about the impact of an octogenarian MT. Mr. Andersen replied that we still need to research, but likely only 1% of owners would qualify. Mr. Whelan commented the assessor's office might see an octogenarian MT too complicated, and it did not address senior between 60 and 80 years old. Mr. Cloth added the MT should be considered in conjunction with RE. Mr. Andersen asked committee members to reach out to Mr. Blier for the final report in the next two weeks. Ms. Bothwell Allen commented that we need consensus before recommending to Board of Selectmen. Ms. Blier suggested the committee to meet with Board of Selectmen when delivering the final report. Mr. Andersen added that it was possible that Board of Selectmen may push out to fall instead of spring. Mr. Cloth added that we want to do it right, and not rush. Mr. Andersen adjourned the meeting at 9:38am. Mr. Pato and Ms. Cutler left before the end of meeting. Respectfully submitted by John Zhao, acting secretary.