02/11/2008
MaineToday Media, Inc.
Kittery residents who are at least 60 years old could earn a property tax break of as much as $750 by serving as a volunteer with the town, under a bill introduced by Rep. Walter Wheeler, D-Kittery.
If the bill is approved, Kittery would be the first municipality in Maine to offer this type of program. Similar programs exist in other states, including Massachusetts, New York, Colorado and South Carolina.
Volunteers could work part-time at the same rate as the state minimum wage, currently $7 an hour, to earn up to $750 off their property tax bill.
"With high taxes, high oil prices, high drug prices, if a senior's on a fixed income, it's hard for them," Wheeler said. "(With the program), people would come to town to see if the town had some sort of work they're capable of doing."
Kittery Town Manager Jon Carter proposed the idea after reading about other states adopting similar programs. The program would be funded by the town, and could come from the town's property tax abatement account, he said.
A public hearing on the bill is expected in the coming weeks, and legislative approval is needed so the tax abatement is not considered income or wages under state law. The programs in various states are not recognized federally and earnings are subject to federal income taxes. If the bill passes, the Kittery Town Council would have to approve the development of a program.
Kittery officials would have to develop the program to address questions such as how many seniors could participate each year, whether seniors could continue to participate year after year, and what types of jobs would be acceptable. For example, in Newbury, Mass., up to 10 residents are allowed to work within the town. Other towns allow larger numbers.
Newbury's program is run by the town's Council on Aging, which sends requests to department heads each year to find out where extra help is needed, said Martha Webb, volunteer coordinator with the town's Council on Aging. Seniors through the program have worked at the transfer station checking stickers, in the treasurer's office processing bills and in the planning office laying out work for the planning board, among other jobs, she said. A couple of retired teachers were also placed in the school system to work as tutors.
Workers in the program cannot earn more than minimum wage, which in Massachusetts is $8. They cannot exceed $750, meaning participants in Newbury's program this year can work up to 94 hours. Program "wages" may be used only for property tax reduction.
Newbury's program started slowly, causing some concern among town employees that their jobs would be threatened as a result of the program, Webb said. That hasn't proven true, she said.
Kittery, like much of the state, has seen its older population grow. Between 1990 and 2000, Kittery's 60-plus population increased by 13 percent, from 17.7 percent to 20 percent of the town's total population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Between 2000 and 2006, York County as a whole saw a 7.8 percent increase in its 60-plus demographic, from 17.9 percent to 19.3 percent of the total population.
"We're at a point where we're concerned down here, because the demographics are going only one way- the graying of Kittery," Carter said. "This is a trend throughout Maine. Clearly, you have to start thinking about the types of services that the seniors will need."
Visual testament to the growing senior population in Kittery is a growing number of new senior housing projects, including a new, 121-unit independent living community that is under construction.
Wheeler said the tax reduction work-off concept could work anywhere in Maine. "It could be a big thing throughout the state," Wheeler said. "We'll be the lead town."
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