Helping senior citizens with tax credits Working off taxes

from NewsLink, Vol. 6, No. 2, Fall 2001 They lived and struggled through the Depression. Many of them served in World War II or Korea. They are part of what Tom Brokaw calls “The Greatest Generation.” These are the men and women who, through sacrifice, hard work and dedication, helped steer the United States into the second half of the 20th century. Along the way, they bought homes, started families, built careers and paid their fair share of taxes. Now as senior citizens, the homes they worked to buy and maintain are threatened by rising property values, especially in the increasingly coveted suburbs surrounding Boston. Recent property assessments have caused a large increase in tax bills even though tax rates have not increased. For seniors, most on fixed incomes, paying burgeoning property tax bills is increasingly difficult. Recognizing this troubling development, the town of Braintree is among those that have instituted a creative measure to help alleviate the tax burden senior citizens face. In 2001, the Braintree Town Council adopted a tax credit for seniors provided for under Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 59, Section 5K. Braintree established a program to allow persons over the age of 60 to volunteer to provide services to the town. In exchange for a minimum number of hours of volunteer services, the town reduces the senior citizens' property tax bill by up to $500 annually. The program allows the town to recoup some of the foregone tax money through services rendered, often by highly skilled individuals, at very little additional cost to the town. Jane Hanley, Services Coordinator at the Braintree Council on Aging said, “BCA didn't need to hire any additional staff and the additional staff hours we do need are provided by senior volunteers. The only cost associated with the program is the paper we use for record keeping.” Sandra Young, Volunteer Coordinator, and Bertha Tuerck, Assistant to the Volunteer Coordinator, aim to put volunteers in positions where they can make the best possible contribution and receive, in exchange, the greatest possible personal satisfaction. By every account, satisfaction is high, both on the part of the volunteers and of the agencies where they are placed. Senior citizens also receive tangible recognition for the value of their volunteered time. The seniors frequently volunteer more than the required hours needed to receive the maximum $500 credit. In the three months that the program was operational during 2001, six of the 30 seniors in volunteer positions had surpassed their required hours, but continued to volunteer essentially for free. There are also non-monetary gains from allowing seniors to volunteer, especially in town schools. According to Hanley, students and volunteers at Braintree schools very often form a mentor-like relationship, giving advice and passing along life-learned knowledge. In addition to Braintree schools, seniors also volunteer at the Council on Aging, Department of Fair Housing, Braintree Electric Light Department, Department of Personnel and Management of Information Systems Department. The volunteers produce personnel manuals, videotape town events that are cablecast on the local access channel and help design department websites. Although the tax credit was first proposed in Braintree in 1994, it did not make it past the town meeting stage. Then, in May of 2001, through the perseverance and pro bono work of a local lawyer on the Board of Assessors, the Town Council passed the measure for fiscal year 2002. The program is monitored and administered by the BCA, which keeps track of each volunteer's hours and sends records to the taxpayer and the town assessor. Seniors volunteer for city agencies at the prevailing minimum wage, currently $6.75, for up to the maximum $500 dollar property tax credit, or 74 hours. No money actually changes hands; the assessor's office credits the taxpayer's bill for the proper amount prior to mailing it. The Town Council estimated that approximately 60 seniors would take advantage of the program and, on that basis, allotted $30,000 to fund the program, which would fund 60 seniors earning the maximum $500 credit. The $30,000 is appropriated from the assessor's overlay account, which consists of funds put aside after everything has been paid for from the previous fiscal year. The account may not exceed one million dollars in any fiscal year and is used primarily to refund property tax abatements. If more than 60 seniors volunteer in any given year, then need-based criteria are instituted to give priority to those seniors who are most deserving of a tax credit. Ready and willing but no place to go During the first year, however, the program's first challenge wasn't a shortage of volunteers but a shortage of positions. In 2001, only 30 positions were available for the 63 seniors who applied for the tax credit. In order to receive the tax credit, seniors may volunteer only for a town agency; they are not permitted to volunteer for private organizations. There is a formal procedure followed by the town of Braintree personnel department before a position can be deemed eligible to be filled by a volunteer. Town agencies submit requests to the town personnel department for a volunteer to perform a certain task, such as light maintenance work in a town school. The town Director of Personnel and Personnel Board then reviews the request to determine if the request should be filled by a volunteer. One obstacle arises over union jobs. The public employees' union is involved in the process, and it reluctant to allow senior volunteers to fill many of the positions. This is a disincentive since managers, knowing that potential opposition is always around the corner, are discouraged from submitting requests. Such work rules adversely affect both seniors and the town. Union workers perform jobs at three to four times the wage that volunteers implicitly earn. The failure to allow a qualified senior to fill a position ultimately costs the town taxpayers' money. Although volunteer positions for 2002 have increased to 40, there is still a significant shortage of opportunities for seniors. Senior citizens have worked all their lives and have paid taxes to provide public services. In the face of higher spending and increased property assessments, Braintree's program makes sense for everyone. A policy that helps senior citizens keep their own homes, reduces the need for elderly public housing and, in this instance, helps the town reduce costs, is clearly worthwhile.

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