Millions in Spending, Senior Tax Break on Joint Meeting Table

A special joint meeting of the Barrington Town Council and the Committee on Appropriations takes place Wednesday evening, April 10, to talk about spending millions of dollars and a new tax break for seniors.

The meeting starts at 7:30 pm in the Council Chamber in Town Hall.

There are only three items on the agenda, but they are significant:

• a proposed tax-deferral program for seniors;
• a bond to repave and repair town roads,
• the proposed municipal budget for next fiscal year.

The special meeting with the COA was set up, in particular, to get feedback on the proposed senior tax deferral program.

As proposed, the tax program would defer only the “incremental real estate tax increase" for residents after age 65 or 70 – not the entire real estate tax. It would effectively “freeze” taxes after an “election date” until a future date 10, 15, 20 or more years down the road or the end of life.

At that point, taxes would come due with interest under one of two options – either 6 percent compounded annually or 12 percent non-compounded. 

Income limits would be either 80 percent of the Barrington median household income of $42,350 for one person and $48,400 for two persons or 100 percent of the media income or $52,900 for one person and $60,500 for two persons. 

Assessment limits would be set: either $272,400 at 80 percent of the median tax assessment or $340,550 at 100 percent of the median assessment.

The tax would come due within 6 months of the death of the qualified resident, with the transfer of the property to another person, upon written request of the applicant to be removed or at the end of the elected term.

The proposed road improvement bond is for $2 million spread out over 10 years. The bond is not now included in the budget proposed for the next fiscal year.

The proposed 2013-14 budget totals $59.83 million dollars, which would require a 2 percent tax hike. 

The spending plan shows a $16.7 million municipal operating budget – or .59 percent higher than this year.  It shows a local share for school spending of $42.2 million – or 2.57 percent higher than this year.

The new budget is limited by a state tax cap of 4 percent. As calculated by the finance director, school spending could increase by $1.64 million and municipal spending could increase by $585,000.  Both proposed increases are under the tax cap -- $1.05 million for the schools and $98,024 for municipal spending.

The owner of a property valued at $300,000, the town manager said, would pay, thus, about $111 more with the proposed spending plan -- $5,511 versus $5,400.