Local Tax Relief Again Available For Older Homeowners

By Steve Bigham

Senior citizens will once again be eligible for tax savings this year under the town’s Elderly Tax Relief Ordinance. The finance committee of the Legislative Council has recommended that $401,000 be set aside for use under this program.

To be eligible under the Elderly Tax Relief Plan, a person or persons must be over 65, have lived in Newtown for at least one year, and live in the home for at least 183 days out of the year. Those with household income levels between $0 and $35,001 will receive a $1,000 tax credit, while those earning between $35,001 and $55,000 will receive a $600 tax credit.

The program was created by the Legislative Council last June (just before tax bills went out) and nearly 400 elderly residents lined up to apply.

By raising the amount of money set aside from $365,000 to $401,000, the council is hoping the town will have enough money to cover all those who qualify.

“Because of the tremendous response last year, the council has appropriated additional money this year,” explained Tax Collector Carol Mahoney. “We want to be able to help everybody that comes in that would be eligible to benefit from this.”

Seniors can apply for the program in the tax collector’s office at Edmond Town Hall between March 1 and May 15.

Last spring, Mrs Mahoney urged town officials to pass the elderly tax relief program, pointing out that many elderly residents on fixed incomes are treading water as the town’s budget continues to rise. Many of them are longtime Newtown residents who are being forced to move out of town. Some are forced to borrow money or use parts of their home equity loans in order to pay their taxes.

The taxpayers of Newtown pay for 60 to 70 percent of municipal spending each year. Much of that money used to come from the state, especially education funds. Town officials opted to implement this plan in an effort to keep Newtown’s elderly in town. A senior citizen requires fewer services than a family with young children.

Relief For                            Emergency Volunteers

The town is also poised to provide tax savings for the men and women who volunteer their own time to respond to emergency situations. The council finance committee has recommended that $113,000 be set aside so that these people can also receive some relief for their efforts.

For now, however, the council is still working on an ordinance that would make the plan legal.

“We are hoping to have an ordinance in place in time for the volunteers to take advantage of a tax relief program this coming fiscal year,” noted Council Chairman Pierre Rochman. “The intent is to have volunteer firemen and ambulance personnel get a break for the volunteer work that they do.

Last year, the Board of Selectmen officially created the Emergency Volunteer Tax Incentive Committee to study the plan. The committee’s charge was straightforward since a newly-passed state statute already states that towns can now grant fire and EMS volunteers up to $1,000 a year off their property taxes. The committee studied the total number of volunteers who would be eligible for tax savings, and how much it will cost the town in lost revenue.

There are currently about 60 members of the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps and more than 200 in the town’s five volunteer fire companies.