To the editor:

Many senior citizens complained that the recent 8 percent property tax increase is driving them out of town.  

In response, the town council formed a committee to consider changes to the elderly tax exemption. Under the current committee recommendation, the property taxes on senior households with incomes up to $69,200 will be reduced by at least 12 percent, which is certainly commendable.  

However, the taxes on senior households with incomes over $69,200 will be increased by at least 2 percent. The increase on non-senior households will be considerably less, but at least 0.5 percent. In any case, the major burden of the resulting tax increase would fall on senior households. How can the committee ask any seniors to accept an additional tax increase when they continue to contribute so much to the town?

As shown in the following table, all senior citizen households continue to be an essential resource for the town. These households pay about one-quarter of the property taxes, have been doing it for a long time, contribute much more than what they cost and do it on half the income of the other households.

                                   Senior households     All other households

Number of households             1,800                    4,300

Average revenue to the town    $8,000                  $11,000

Average cost to the town         $3,000                  $13,000

Median years in residence         32 years                9 years

Median annual income             $62,000 (fixed)      $133,000

Census data verifies that many families come here after their children are born and leave after the children finish high school. Our senior citizens have remained and paid property taxes for many years after their children have finished school. They retire on a fixed income, but continue to pay property taxes that increase every year (sometimes 8 percent).

Twenty-eight of the 39 Rhode Island communities recognize the contributions of all senior citizen households regardless of income and provide an average exemption of $362. The proposed $200 exemption for senior households with income of over $69,200 is an insult to our seniors who already pay higher taxes than most communities in the state.

An alternate proposal would be a senior household tax freeze, like several other Rhode Island communities.  

Those senior households that have paid taxes for many decades would not incur any increase in their property taxes. This would be a more effective way of achieving the goal of retaining seniors. It would be consistent with the fixed income of seniors. It would have no impact on the remaining tax payers in the near term. It would be further encouragement for the town to minimize annual tax increases in the long term.

In any case, senior citizens are the backbone of this community and deserve better treatment than what the committee is proposing!

Peter Clifford

Adelaide Clifford

Barrington