WHITMAN – The Select Board has approved a new policy for a tax veterans’ abatement program approved at the May 2024 annual Town Meeting.
Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter has been discussing a Veteran Citizen Property Tax Write-Off program with Veterans’ Services Officer Shannon Burke and Assessor Wendy Jones, to help veterans work off a portion of their property taxes.
“It’s similar in a lot of ways to the senior work-off program,” Carter said during the Tuesday, July 23 Select Board meeting.
She said Burke has written the program policy so the program will be limited to no more than five veterans per program year, but could be further limited by the availability of staff to provide proper supervision.
“The VSO will see who’s interested, check with departments, see who has a need for a volunteer, similar to the COA [Council on Aging],” Carter said. “They will be able to make the minimum wage up to the cap.”
She reminded the Board that the program was approved at the May 2024 Town meeting, to the policy is just to go along with that.”
Right now, the salary cap is $1,500. While the COA has recently increased its tax abatement program salary cap, [the veterans’] program is written that way, without a specific dollar amount.
“It just says, ‘Up to the limit,’” Carter said of the salary listed. And there is no specific age requirement that one has to meet with funds coming out of the real estate and personal equity line of the budget each year – just as the funding for the senior abatement program does.
“The only differences are there is no age limit of veterans and you have to meet the status of a veteran, based off the federal definition of what a veteran is” she said.
“It will open it up, too, because we have a lot of younger veterans who could use the help, and they’re looking. This is a way for them two work for the town and get a financial break from the taxes.”
They are trying to open up the process because they are not eligible for the senior work off.
Select Board member Laura Howe asked about the reason for limiting the program to five participants.
“We’ll start with the five and see what the future brings,” Vice Chair Daniel Savucci said.
Resident Bob Kimball of Auburnville Way asked what would happen if there were, say, 10 applicants for the five spots.
“How do we give the veteran that needs it the most, the ability to [participate]?,” he asked. “Do we give it to people who have Purple Hearts? Do we have people with a disability? We want to make sure that the right veteran gets it.”
Burke said all applicants … will be put in the right order, according to the most need,” noting that, if they are receiving another exemption, they would go on the list below someone receiving no exemptions and “could really use the program.”
“We’re trying to get as many veterans as much help as we can,” she said. “Obviously, our most needy are going to go at the top and the ones that can wait a year or so are going to go toward the bottom. It’s going to depend on who applies and where they are.”
Select Board member Shawn Kain asked if, during the implementation of the program, the board could be updated on it to determine how much demand there is for it.
In other business, the board was updated on work done under a grant from the CPC and Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) and the next steps to conduct a survey to assess and document some 140 selected architectural and cultural resources in town ahead of the 2025 celebrations of Whitman’s 150th anniversary. Th inventory will be presented to the town as part of that observance.
“The properties are ones that have not been previously surveyed, but can be considered endangered in Whitman,” said Mary Joyce, who thanked Carter and Assistant Town Clerk Kathleen Keefe and the town’s IT team for helping “moving some things forward that were stuck.”
Survey results will be submitted to the MHC for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places and provide an article for the 2024 warrant to provide the town with a demolition delay bylaw, providing plaques to properties indicating historic significance of Whitman.
Joyce also said the Commission will establish community resources for the schools and interested members of the public and have already been asked by the architectural firm working on the new Whitman Middle School for some historical items to show within that building.
Key milestones met include: participation in a MHC workshop; submission of a single audit in June; finalization of a scope of work with the MHC, which was approved in late July; development and drafting of an requests for quotes now in final review with the MHC with execution of the contract between now and 2025 left to achieve.
Select Board members agreed to Joyce’s suggestion of providing a periodic update on the project’s progress.