By Geena Monahan—For the North Star Reporter
An exemption change that would expand the pool of seniors that can qualify for a $1,000 tax break found strong support with the Finance Subcommittee, as was passed with a unanimous vote at the April 8 meeting.
The six subcommittee members present at the meeting — Town Council Vice President John Simmons, Dan Donovan, John Costello, Patricia St. Pierre, Craig Cameron and John Donohue — all voted to move the town from a 41C to a 41D exemption. This measure will go before the Town Council for a vote at its April 14 meeting.
“I think the progress is a testament to teamwork and the fact that we leave pride of authorship and ego at door,” said Simmons to the North Star Reporter about the measure. “It is truly amazing how much you can accomplish when the team doesn’t care who gets the credit.”
A 41D exemption is tied to a cost of living adjustment (COLA) each year. While both 41C and 41D serve as a way to provide a $1,000 real estate tax exemption to seniors, 41D would increase the whole estate limit each year by COLA, expanding the pool of qualifying seniors.
As explained by Assistant Assessor Cheryl Smith, a shift to 41D will increase the income and asset maximum by 3.4%, compounding each year. Currently, the income requirements for a senior to qualify for 41C is capped at $25,834, with assets not to exceed $30,000. For a married couple, the joint income maximum is $48,751, with $55,000 or less in assets.
Smith said that every year she has seniors come to her who make just $1,000 or $2,000 dollars over the limit, and thus do not qualify for the exemption. According to Smith, only 27 seniors utilized the 41C exemption last year, equaling $27,000 in tax relief provided by the town.
Simmons clarified with the subcommittee that seniors who become eligible for the 41D exemption can still qualify for the Massachusetts Circuit Breaker tax credit and the town’s Senior Tax Work-Off Program.
Other proposals
The work-off program was also further discussed by members, who brainstormed ways for it to be more accessible to seniors. Currently, if seniors are unable to do the work themselves, a family member can do it in their place, but Donovan proposed the idea of allowing high schoolers or even members of Scouting America to do the volunteer work for those who don’t have a family member who can assist them.
In regards to how the 41D exemption would be paid for, Town Manager Michael Borg explained it comes out of the overlay budget line item, which has a current balance of $1.2 million. Borg cautioned the councilors on using too much of the overlay to fund tax relief measures, as it is already used to pay for $400,000 in current exemptions and $300,000 in abatements.
“This is a big problem, it’s not a simple solution,” said Simmons. “If approved by the full Council, the move from 41C to 41D will be small, at first, but we hope over the next few years it expands the pool of eligible seniors.”
A measure for a means-tested senior citizen property tax exemption proposed by Councilor Mark Gould was discussed by the subcommittee as well. The proposal was originally tied to the June debt exclusion vote for the new high school and is now aimed at providing broader tax relief to seniors.
Borg did a mock-up presentation for the subcommittee, giving estimations of the cost of this exemption if 500 seniors were eligible for it.
According to Borg’s calculations, a measure like this would bring about $950 a year in savings to qualifying seniors, while passing the tax burden along to other residents at a cost of about $45 a year.
These numbers were provided as an example, and Borg pledged to work alongside the Assessors Office to bring alternative scenarios and simulations based on different criteria to the subcommittee’s next meeting.
Reached after the meeting, Gould expressed concern due to the fact he was unable to attend the meeting at the request of the subcommittee. He added that because of the subcommittee’s influence on some policy decisions, he felt he should have been invited to the meeting, something he added is a rare occurrence.
“I believe real teamwork includes listening to all voices—especially those who’ve done the groundwork to bring an issue forward,” Gould said in a statement. “I was unfortunately not permitted to attend the subcommittee meeting where this proposal was shaped, but I remain committed to working with my colleagues to ensure seniors get the support they need. Progress matters more than credit, and inclusion matters most of all.”
Gould added that he had reached out to the subcommittee with a suggestion that a note be added to the meeting listing that a meeting of the council may occur concurrently, something he has seen the Town of Taunton do.
Simmons, reached after the meeting, said that Gould being at the meeting would have constituted a violation of Open Meeting Law, as the subcommittee is comprised of four members of the City Council.
“If any other councilor appeared at a subcommittee meeting it would mean a quorum of the whole would be present in violation of the Open Meeting Law,” Simmons wrote. “Councilor Gould presented his tax proposal at a public hearing with the full council present, we then held a joint subcommittee/full council meeting so he could present again to the subcommittee (posting as a joint meeting solves the Open Meeting issue) and he was present during the discussion of the proposal and engaged with us in the very fruitful debate.”
Simmons added that Gould was free to submit any comments or questions to the subcommittee.
“Moving forward it is the subcommittee’s job to evaluate this, and many other, tax proposals,” Simmons wrote. “In no way was anyone silenced or prevented from speaking—in fact, Councilor Gould forwarded, upon my request, written materials which were added to the record at the last subcommittee meeting. This is not new—the full council routinely sends financial matters (regardless of where and with whom the discussion started) to the subcommittee so we may do a deep dive and report back to the full council.”
Conversation was also continued on Donovan’s proposed measure to provide relief to renters. Donovan suggested the adoption of the Massachusetts’ Affordable Housing Property Tax Exemption, which was signed into law in 2023, and shields tenants from rent hikes in the case of a property tax increase.
By agreeing to rent at an affordable rate determined by the town, landlords could be eligible for a tax exemption as an incentive for not raising rents.
Two motions were passed unanimously to move further discussion on Gould and Donovan’s measures to the subcommittee’s upcoming meeting on April 22.
An invite will be extended to state Sen. Paul Feeney and state Rep. Adam Scanlon to attend the next meeting to provide an update on the status of a bill in legislation that would allow a tax freeze to become legal in Massachusetts, something the subcommittee has expressed interest in bringing to North Attleborough seniors as well.
“We had the goal of returning something actionable to the council and we met that goal,” said Simmons. “I hope that is just the beginning and we can move forward with a fuller, more compressive tax relief plan that will provide our seniors with some support while not overly burdening other taxpayers.”