Tax Collector Proposes

Increased Senior Benefits

By John Voket

Newtown’s tax collector is proposing a plan to give more money back to a select group of established local taxpayers. Last week, Tax Collector Carol Mahoney tendered a proposal to the Legislative Council’s Ordinance Subcommittee to consider amending the existing ordinance permitting some enhancements to the Newtown Senior Tax Benefit that she hopes will play a role in helping residents remain in town, and in their family homes if possible.

The proposal is two fold: increase the existing cap on the program budget from $750,000 to $900,000, and then increase the actual dollar benefit to the multi-tiered initiative to provide greater savings to more seniors earning fewer dollars.

“That part of the plan intends to provide a greater benefit to those with lower incomes,” Ms Mahoney confirmed Wednesday. The tax collector is referring to specifics of the second part of the ordinance amendment proposal, to step up net benefits to between $950 and $1,585 for those qualified seniors earning $60,000 or less.

That part of the plan would have individuals with sole or combined incomes under $40,000 receiving about a 15 percent increase in the current benefit, which stands at $1,385, to $1,585. Those earning between $40,001 and the proposed cap of $60,000 would see an increased benefit from $825 to $950 if the proposal is eventually approved by the full council.

Currently there are about 600 households on the program, and Ms Mahoney hopes the proposed increase will encourage more qualified seniors to come forward.

“We want to see even more seniors being made aware of the program,” the tax collector said. “But as far as knowing for certain how much we should cap the budget, that’s a shot in the dark.”

Ms Mahoney hopes the proposed $200,000 increase to the overall benefit budget will be enough to accommodate current and new applicants.

“We certainly would hate to see a few qualified households come forward and then have to prorate the benefit because we ran out of money in the current plan,” she said.

While the program was last evaluated in 2004, Ms Mahoney foresees a biannual review process going forward.

“As the town’s population of senior residence grows, we want participants to be able to count on a possible benefit increase every two years,” she said, acknowledging that for some senior households, that few hundred dollars makes all the difference when families consider moving out of town.

She also admitted the program was very generous compared to some other neighboring communities.

“The main thing is we want to be able to help in any way we can to keep seniors in their Newtown homes,” she said. The tax collector’s and assessor’s office have ramped up their collective efforts to promote local, state, and federal tax benefits to not only seniors, but military personnel active and retired, as well as handicapped or disabled individuals.

“We don’t want to see people moving because they are faced with such a financial challenge to stay,” Ms Mahoney said. “This is one more way of saying to our valued seniors that they are still very important to us as a community.”

Although Ms Mahoney called the current benefit roles of 600 households a “tremendous success,” she believes by increasing the benefit qualifications, several dozen to several hundred more families may be able to qualify if the program increase moves forward with the council in the coming weeks.