I. Council Action Requested.
Title
To authorize the transfer of $3,375 from general contingency account 19910-43100 to the property tax assistance program account 18300-46930 and allow the Town Manager to make additional transfers within the next sixty (60) days, if need be, for seniors who may qualify for this assistance.
Body
II. Basis for Council Action.
Council approval of this item is required because;
a. Pursuant to Article 19 of the 2024-2025 Municipal Warrant which authorizes the Town Council “to transfer any unencumbered appropriation balance or portion thereof between general classification of expenditures between any offices, departments or agencies during fiscal year 2024-2025”, and
b. The order seeks the transfer of funds from General Contingency to offset the senior tax assistance program fund.
III. Issue Summary.
Since the program application period closed, several seniors have expressed concerns after receiving their tax bills. The hardship was mostly due to the state’s stabilization program ending, which froze taxes due to the 2022 tax bill amount, and the valuation of their properties being brought current.
To date Council has authorized the appropriation of $160,000 for the fund and authorized to increase the fund $6,076 via a transfer from the general contingency account. When Council authorized payments on August 20, 2024 there were 282 applications with 269 eligible for refunds.
As of the date of this agenda post we have received five additional applications from qualifying seniors at an additional total of $3,375. We are expecting at least five more applications.