The Board of Selectman (BOS) and the Board of Finance (BOF) are partnering to review the town’s senior tax abatement regulations for the upcoming 2023 tax year. There are four programs currently available to Madison seniors that can reduce their tax bill, and according to town officials, they are conducting mandated and voluntary reviews that will help them streamline the application process, and possibly shore up certain redundant aspects of the regulations.

According to town documents, there are currently four programs available to Madison seniors in regard to tax relief, including a local tax abatement program and a tax free program, a local deferral program, and a state circuit breaker program.

The local tax abatement program is designed to help some of the town’s more vulnerable residents who have income limitations. Eligible participants receive a credit on the new tax bill for the upcoming fiscal year.

The local tax freeze program targets an expanded audience of residents who are not able to receive relief from the tax abatement program. It assists eligible applicants predict expense, and participants gross taxes are frozen at the original base year.

The local deferral program assists the most vulnerable residents or those who need extra assistance in a given year or over time. Eligible participants are able to defer paying up to $8,000 in taxes secured with a lien on the property.

The state circuit breaker program is designed to assist the most vulnerable residents. Eligible participants receive a credit on July tax bill bi-annual application process unless the income changes or percentage of ownership changes.

According to First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons, the Board of Selectman (BOS) has been discussing various aspects of the senior tax program for some time and want to ensure that the process is as simplified as possible for residents and also that it delivers on its goals.

“There will be a lot of public interest on this as we move through the process. I don’t think we are looking to make dramatic changes, but are trying to make sure these programs are effective and are helpful for the public,” Lyons said. “There are a lot of duplication. We have four different programs, and they all have different requirements and different benefit levels, so the question is, can we streamline this somehow? Make it simpler for applicants to submit?”

Lyons said under some programs, the town is required to review the program. For example, the senior tax freeze program includes a stipulation that after the first five years, the town is required to review the program.

“We are required to review many of these programs. We are at that five years now, so need to do that,” said Lyons. “We need to step back and look at it to see if it has been successful; Have there been any problems? The Board of Finance is in charge of regulating these types of actions and so we will be partnering with them to work through those programs.”

According to Lyons, the boards have been trying to learn from the staff who work with clients to apply for the program. Staff have hands-on experience with the process.

“They are real experienced now in this process, and have been great in working really closely with clients,” Lyons said. “So, they have a number of ideas that we hope will help us determine how we best serve the community and how we can improve the process.”

The BOS hopes to address a number of important points during the review process, including re-evaluating all of the town’s senior tax relief programs to ensure that help is available to as many residents who need it. Additionally, the board is looking to address “several qualification requirements” that have created barriers to assist applicants, as well as streamlining the application process.

Lyons said that some of the next steps will include reviewing the effectiveness of the abatement and tax freeze programs, and creating a joint working group with the BOS, BOF, and town staff to evaluate the programs and determine any overlap. The BOF has appointed members for a required special committee for the tax freeze, and town staff have also identified some opportunities for improvement in both administrative and policy aspects of programs, according to Lyons.

“It may take some time, but our goal is to have these changes by February, which is when the application process begins for some of these programs. So, our goal is if we are going to try and make any changes that we would have them through the whole process by February. Obviously, we want people to be able to learn about programs and be prepared for next year’s tax season. I think the public will have a lot of interest in that,” Lyons said.

Lyons recommended that residents review the slide presentation presented during the Sept. 13 BOS meeting that has important information on the programs, and data on how the programs have affected the town’s tax base. That slide show is available at madisonct.org.