Government
Town Seeks Reasons for Decline in Elderly Tax Relief Program Participation
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Surmising that fewer elderly and disabled New Canaan homeowners are taking advantage of a tax relief program—at least in part—because they don’t know about it, town officials are trying to spread the word while calling for feedback from those who may qualify (see form below). Participants in New Canaan’s Tax Relief for the Elderly or Disabled program dropped from 137 in fiscal year 2008 to 62 in fiscal year 2013, according to data presented by the Town Council at its regular meeting Tuesday. Penny Young, co-chair of the Town Council Health & Human Services Committee, said officials “probably are not engaging in a sufficient way” in educating the community. “We need to reach out in a more visible way” and make it known that “the program exists for people to keep being part of it,” Young said at the meeting, held in the Sturgess Room at the New Canaan Nature Center. Here’s a look at program participation in recent years:
Other possible reasons for the decline, Young said in a memo to Town Council (see it here), include that some residents may view the program as a threat to their own self-sufficiency, possess assets beyond a qualifying income that would put them out of range, or are reluctant to disclose their finances.