New York has established a system of school tax exemptions and rebates for retired seniors.
It seems that most states have senior tax-reducing programs of one type or another.
With an aging population, we can expect more interest in the elimination or reduction of school tax burdens on the elderly. This tends to shift the burden to the state and increase that of the local school districts.
It seems to me that, school systems are in the best position to provide many of the required services of our aging population while retaining the present underlying property tax base and the state benefits afforded each enrollee in the system and within our under-used facilities.
I would encourage the Village of Shorewood and Shorewood's Schools to develop extensive programs for serving the seniors in our community while moving toward establishing some additional state support. Let's assign someone to the task of coming up with a plan, perhaps a senior citizen or two.
We may even see movement toward general property tax rebates for senior residents which would affect the Village's revenues as well.
An intergenerational school program might begin to satisify senior interest. It would be an initial place to start and give community justification and a strong base for a senior oriented plan.
Unless seniors are given significant community attention, we are likely to see movement toward total school tax exemption for property taxpayers over 65.
If no significant advancement in the development of intergenerational school and social programs is made quite soon, we can expect to see more energies directed toward school tax exemptions for seniors.
Unless, our officials are motivated to act, we won't see much movement in the direction of local senior services such as those that schools can provide. Let's get some immediate response and some sort of action from our local officials. What will it take to get things going?
