Should Montville Seniors Get A Tax Break?

Should Montville seniors get a tax break? One Montville man thinks so, and he has a proposal on how to do it.

Tony Siragusa, a member of Montville’s Planning and Zoning Commission, a two-time candidate for Connecticut’s House of Representatives and a senior himself, has a proposal before Montville’s Finance Committee that would cut property taxes by up to 20 percent to Montville’s seniors. The plan could pay for itself and stimulate the town’s economy, as it would encourage people to build in Montville, Siragusa said.

“Right now there is no reason to build in Montville,” he said in an interview with Patch. “And this would be something unique, something no other town has offered before. It would probably make national news and stimulate Montville’s housing market.”

Siragusa has offered three options to give people over the age of 65 a property tax break. In his first first plan, people aged 65 to 74 would get 3 percent off their taxes, people aged 75 to 84 would get 7 percent off their taxes, people aged 85 to 94 would get 10 percent off of their taxes and people above the age of 95 would get 20 percent off their taxes. The other two plans are relatively similar.

Siragusa has discussed the plan with Montville’s Finance Committee and at their last meeting, Town Councilor Joseph Jaskiewicz said he would met with State Rep. Kevin Ryan, D-Montville, to further discuss the proposal. According to the proposal Siragusa wrote up, the plan would pay for itself if it encouraged 80 new homes to be built in Montville in the next two years.

Specifics

Siragusa’s plan is to wait two years to implement the program after it is passed. His thinking is that program, which he says is unlike any other in the state, would make national news and encourage people to build in Montville. If 80 homes are built in Montville during that time, the program would pay for itself because there would be more people paying property taxes, he said.

Siragusa said to qualify for the program, seniors would have to live in Montville for at least three years. Only single-family homes or condos would be eligible for the program, he said.

“A method of growing the town’s tax base, while helping its seniors, is needed. If the town could provide a tax reduction system for seniors, others would notice and would want to live in Montville,” Siragusa wrote in his proposal. “This would, hopefully, increase the building of new homes. The increase in new homes would offset the revenues lost in the tax decrease and would eventually expand the tax base enough to lower everyones’ taxes. It would be innovative and create a media stir that would be a positive for our community.”