Next week, Town Meeting will be asked to consider “the first step of many” in the realm of addressing senior tax relief options for Belmont residents.
That step will be to approve Article 9 of the Nov. 18 special Town Meeting warrant, which seeks to establish an Aid to the Elderly and Disabled Taxation Fund, a provision of Massachusetts General Law. In effect, its passage would allow the creation of a fund to receive donations for eligible low-income seniors and disabled residents and to establish a five-person committee (defined by state statute) that will define program rules and eligibility.
If passed, people could donate to the fund by writing a check to the town indicating it is for the tax relief fund.
Though a “meaningful” first step, members of the working group emphasized the donation fund will be just one step of many the working group hopes to consider.
“We had a significant override, which we desperately needed and I supported. Combining that with the multiple debt exclusions we’ve had for the various projects … The increase in taxes is significant, even to a point where it’s a number I notice, from where I am in my career, in my life,” said Geoffrey Lubien, chair of the Senior Tax Relief Working Group. “[Seniors] add so much character to the town and are a branch to the past to understand how things came to be. … If these are ways to keep people in their homes longer and to be part of the town longer, then we should do it.”
The group’s formation followed the Select Board’s interest in looking into what relief was available for seniors, particularly after voters passed the $8.5 million Proposition 2 ½ override in April, according to Finance Director/Assistant Director Jennifer Hewitt.
In July, the Select Board appointed Kathy Keohane, former Select Board member Mark Paollilo, and Precinct 6 Town Meeting member Aaron Pikcilingis to the working group. They were joined by staff members Hewitt and Assessor Dan Dargon.
More recently, Lubien, who also serves on the Warrant Committee, and Marsha Semuels, who serves on the Council on Aging, were appointed to what has since become a formal committee with a charge. The Select Board adopted the charge on Oct. 21, designating the committee’s role in identifying and evaluating potential opportunities for new tax relief programs for Belmont residents, particularly seniors and residents with disabilities. Those opportunities “for immediate, medium, and long-term action” will be recommended to the Select Board and, if required, sent to Town Meeting for approval.
Ultimately, the committee plans to consider state statutes and regulations, improve education and outreach, and, ideally, re-launch the tax work-off program, opening it to veterans as well.
“The reason we’re taking this step now versus other steps now is that other exceptions under state regulations … don’t go into effect until next fiscal year — next July 1 — no matter when we adopt them,” said Pikcilingis. “If we adopt them at annual Town Meeting, after having spent the time between one and next spring studying them and what the outcomes will be, they still go into effect on July 1. What we’re doing is not rushing to get those things in, because there’s no benefit to rushing.”
Article 9, meanwhile, can go into effect immediately after passage. Pikcilingis said the aim is for the donation committee to be ready to receive donations in early 2025 and receive and evaluate applications for April 1, impacting the fourth quarter tax bills.
Looking ahead, the committee looks to improve the state and local exemptions now in place, considering the need for relief and what the town’s budget can sustain.
Additionally, the working group is looking to improve outreach and education on programs already in place in Belmont. That includes the senior tax work-off program, which the Select Board upped the cap last spring to $2,000. In 2021, the town also adopted a provision of the Massachusetts BRAVE Act, which makes veterans eligible to do a tax workoff program.
Both programs, however, are not up and running due to staffing.
“Part of our work, I think, will be figuring out what we need to have in place to re-establish those programs so they’re available to seniors, and to start being available to veterans,” he said.
