By modifying existing options within the legal parameters and better informing the public about them, we could avoid the potential negative community impact of the RTE.

Regarding the Residential Tax Exemption: It does not specifically target those with the need for tax relief which appears to be the rationale behind Board of Selectmen Chairman Patrick White’s proposal to adopt RTE and Carole Owens’ recent letter to the editor supporting it.

This decision should take into account the dynamics of a community and the adverse social effects that may be created by RTE adoption. I suspect this is different for every community in Massachusetts: The percentage of second home parcels; the assessed value of those second homes; second homeowners’ level of community engagement; and the benefits, or potential lack thereof, to the local economy has a decided influence on how the community will be affected.

I suspect in Stockbridge that the adoption of RTE would be like hitting a tack with a sledgehammer, splintering our community.

There are multiple other options, like enhancing the existing senior tax exemption, veteran’s or surviving spouse’s exemption, blind person’s exemption, or the existing tax deferral option.

By modifying existing options within the legal parameters and better informing the public about them, we could avoid the potential negative community impact of the RTE.

Characterizing opposing opinions as “threats” and “attacks” is disturbing at best. Insinuating that misinformation is being bandied about is ironic since Owens does not have all of her facts straight.

The percentage of residential parcels occupied by second homeowners flutters around 50 percent and has done so for years, according to our Town Assessor.

In Stockbridge, we have five tax exemption and assistance programs which have recently been utilized by the following numbers of residents in Fiscal 2022:

Clause 17E — Surviving Spouse and Elderly: 10 residents. Clause 22(s) — Veterans: nine residents. Clause 37 — Elderly: four residents. Aid to the Elderly: seven residents.

We also have Clause 18, which is a general need-based program overseen by the Board of Assessors.

All of these programs are strictly confidential, and no one is asked to “plead poverty and open their private life to public scrutiny.”

They simply need to meet the requirements of the program for which they have applied. Not all of these options are means-tested (i.e. Veterans and Blind). As a former Select Board member, I can speak to the fact that not even the Select Board is privy to any applicants’ personal information.

In addition, Owens feels she speaks for all of us when she states, “Still others do not relieve tax debt, but merely put it off. Folks don’t want to burden their children or force the sale of their property to pay off the mounting tax debt.”

A tax deferral program is an option that may be appropriate for some, but this is a decision for residents and their families to make.

To say that these alternative options are “cruel” appears to be designed to do what Ms. Owens purports to abhor: emotionalize an issue that deserves objective, open-minded consideration, deliberation, and decision-making by the full Board of Selectmen.

For those interested, below are two links that may be helpful regarding the various existing alternatives to RTE:

Another option to consider is the Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit.

Regarding the maundering, “fairness” paragraphs, Ms. Owens states that:

“The sewer connection at Mahkeenac Heights was paid for by the Town although only residents in that small lake community benefited.” She continues, “Stockbridge taxpayers pay millions for Stockbridge Bowl—harvesting, dredging, and expert consultants—when a very few live on the lake?”

The Mahkeenac Heights sewer extension in 2003 and the earlier Beachwood extension in the 1980s have not only benefited those particular residents but everyone who cares about our environmental gem of Stockbridge Bowl (Lake Mahkeenac) and Stockbridge’s municipal tax base.

Lake Mahkeenac is owned by the Commonwealth and is a public body of water used by many out-of-state and local visitors, not just those who live on Stockbridge Bowl. The number of residents living on the shoreline pales in comparison to the number of enthusiastic visitors to our little town who contribute to the local economy of our small communities in Berkshire County.

Get the latest news and happenings delivered straight to your inbox.

Get the latest news and happenings delivered straight to your inbox.

Get the latest news and happenings delivered straight to your inbox.

Get the latest news and happenings delivered straight to your inbox.

September 10 - September 18 @ 07:30 pm - 09:30 pm

Neave Trio – Violin, Cello, Piano

Lich Gate Concerts: Live Chamber Music in the Park - September 17!

Golden Leaf Rag Time Blues

September 23 - October 30 @ 07:30 pm - 09:30 pm

Website by Web Publisher PRO © 2022 The Berkshire Edge, LLC. All rights reserved. Read our Terms of Use