Selectmen’s Committee on Senior Tax Policy

Members

  • Ben Franco, Board of Selectmen
  • Frank Caro, Senior Advocate, TMM Pct. 10
  • Harold Peterson, Board of Assessors
  • Jeff Kushner, TMM Pct. 14


  • Neil Gordon, Advisory Committee, TMM Pct. 1
  • Sandy Spector, Resident, Senior Tax Work Off Program Participant
  • Susan Granoff, Senior Advocate, TMM Pct. 7

Charge

The charge of the committee shall be:

  1. To evaluate residential property tax relief for low and moderate income senior homeowners. The Committee may accomplish this by:
    1. Reviewing information about Brookline’s residential taxpayers to understand the current, and possible future, composition of the residential taxpayer base, including the number of low and moderate income senior homeowner taxpayers;
    2. Evaluating the effectiveness and adequacy of statutorily available tax relief programs for low and moderate income senior homeowners and, as needed, offering improvements to the implementation of the programs in Brookline;
    3. Investigating the efforts of peer Massachusetts communities to provide residential tax assistance to seniors and determining the effectiveness and appropriateness of adoption of similar programs and policies by Brookline; and
    4. Considering the creation of innovative programs that could be implemented to assist senior homeowners with low and moderate incomes.
  2. To develop appropriate policy recommendations, proposals for adjustment to local implementation of statutorily provided residential tax assistance programs for senior residential taxpayers with low or moderate incomes, suggestions for new tax assistance programs that would benefit senior residential taxpayers with low or moderate incomes, and draft of warrant articles necessary to implement the committee’s recommendations.
  3. To provide to the Board of Selectmen by no later than August 3, 2017 a report of the information the committee has gathered and its recommendations.
  4. In carrying out its charge the committee shall at all times be mindful that granting additional relief to low and moderate income senior homeowners will increase the burden on other groups of taxpayers.

Materials for the March 1, 2017 Committee Meeting:

Impact of Rising Taxes and Rents on Seniors including notes from COA Director (PDF)
Selected Pertinent US Census Estimate (PDF)

Materials for the April 5, 2017 Committee Meeting:

FY-17 Filing Instructions (PDF)
FY2017 Senior Means Tested Exemption Application (PDF)
Lincoln Property Tax Circuit Breakers Final (PDF)
Senior Tax Document (PDF)
Senior Circuit Breaker 2017 (PDF)
Final Report of the Committee - October 10, 2017 (PDF)

Agendas & Minutes

Agendas are available prior to the meetings. Minutes are available following approval.

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