HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-11-14-TDES-min Draft
Selectmen's Tax Deferral and Exemption (TD+E) Study Committee
Meeting Minutes
A meeting of the Tax Deferral and Exemption Committee was called to order at 7:07 PM
on November 14, 2019, in the Reed Room at the Lexington Town Office Building.
Members present were: Vicki Blier; Pat Costello; Dick Bair, Jane Current, John
Bartenstein, Appropriations Committee liaison; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town
Manager for Finance; and Select Board member Joe Pato..
The purposes of the meeting-
1.
eeting:1. Approve prior meeting minutes
2. Review statistical data for Lexington incomes, review indexing options for Tax
Deferral income limits, and review income limits used by other Massachusetts
municipalities.
3. Discuss deferral income limit parameters and indexing options for Lexington.
4. Adopt recommendations for presentation to the Select Board for possible warrant
article at the 2020 Annual Town Meeting.
Meeting Results:
1. Minutes of the September 24, 2019 meeting were reviewed and unanimously
approved for posting.
2. Review income data for Lexington residents, especially seniors.
Committee Member Pam Joshi provided results of analysis of income distribution
across age groups which was presented to the group by Vicki Blier. In addition, income
data reported in the recent Wass report on Improving Quality of Life in Lexington was
discussed. Income limits used in other Towns for deferral programs was reviewed,
though there were no standard levels of income used across the State. It was noted
that the income limit used in Lexington was lower than that used in some neighboring
jurisdictions, including Arlington.
3. Income limits for Tax Deferrals
In discussing how best to increase participation in the Town's deferrals program, two
main options emerged: increase publicity about the program and increase the income
limit for eligibility. Recommended new publicity: request that a notice be inserted into
the quarterly real estate tax bills scheduled to be mailed out at the end of 2019; request
space in the January issue of the Town's senior newsletter, SAGE, for an article to
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describe the tax deferral program; and prepare posters for posting around Town to
indicate where to get further information about the deferral program.
4. Recommendations to submit to Select Board prior to 2020 Town Meeting.
Discussion, followed by recommendation: we propose to Select Board to increase the
income limit to qualify for deferrals from current level of$75,000 to $90,000. $907000
matches the qualifying income limit for a married couple who are filing taxes jointly for
the State's Senior Property Tax Circuit Breaker program. This is the highest of the
program's three qualifying income levels.
Motion: Advise the Select Board to propose that Town Meeting increase the Property
Tax Deferral qualifying income limit to $90,000 as preliminary test to assess the affect of
matching the highest qualifying limit for the State's Senior Property Tax Circuit Breaker
program, which is currently $90,000. This is proposed with the intention of creating a
future motion to index the Deferral income level to the Circuit Breaker's highest
qualifying income level at the 2021 Town Meeting if participation levels prove fiscally
prudent for the Town.
The motion was proposed and passed unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM.
Next Meeting: TBA
Respectfully submitted,
Dick Bair
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