Council meeting 9/12
There were several items on the agenda tonight.
The senior tax freeze got sent the Ordinance Review Committee. They (Esty--Chair, Ecke & Orsini) will have a meeting on this topic on Thursday Sept 21 (location to be decided).
The firehouse design passed 7-2 (Ruocco, Schrumm opposed).
During liaison reports, I mentioned that the town has had 100 households sign up for clean energy. Therefore, the town receive a free photovoltaic array (solar panel) valued at $20,000. It's estimated that it will generate $400 worth of electricity annually, saving the town's taxpayers that money. Click here to sign up.
Tim White
Town Council, 4th district
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
3 comments:
Tim, does the tax freeze proposal have any income limits tied into the plan? I also feel like the council is ready to rollover on this as the seniors do come out in numbers to vote. I would support this if there is some type of income/assets testing so that only the needy get the break.....
Breach... I believe there is a difference between the petition that Cheshire's seniors organized and the recently passed state law.
The Cheshire petition did not specifically include income/asset limits. But the state law does include income limits ($27k/$33k, single/couple).
As far as I know, the state law does not address asset limits. As well, I'm pretty sure that no government (local, state, federal) really addresses asset limits... they more or less tax the income on gains/losses when assets are sold.
I'm unaware of any mechanism that could be used to measure assets.
As for helping those in need, I fully agree. And I believe that in Cheshire, those most in need tend to be seniors.
The idea of tax relief should be pursued by all, all of us will be affected. My position is that taz relief is based on earned income first, then maybe an additional break for seniors. When you think about it a family with one kid has greater needs for tax relief than a senior if both families have the same income level. Granted the working family has a greater opportunity to increase their income through more work.
Actually, the property tax system needs to be changed to taxation based on income, not property valuation and mill rates.
Post a Comment