Barrington town manager stands behind senior tax exemption change

Barrington Town Manager Jim Cunha is staying the course.

While the Rhode Island chapter of the ACLU recently requested that the town reconsider the proposed changes to the senior tax exemption, Mr. Cunha said he plans to follow through on the shift unless he is directed by the town council to do otherwise. 

"I don't think the ACLU letter will have a significant impact," Mr. Cunha said during an interview last week.

In late October, ACLU executive director Steven Brown sent a letter to the town stating that no substantial change to the existing tax exemption ordinance had been made, and therefore officials should not be requesting confidential tax information from residents who only aim to receive the flat rate tax exemption.

He wrote, in part: "…those who qualify for the low flat tax exemption under existing law should be able to apply under the same circumstances they have in the past since the law itself has not changed."

Mr. Cunha said he read the three-page letter from the ACLU and shared it with the town's attorneys. He said he had been planning to meet with the attorneys, but added that he did not anticipate that the town would be shifting its stance on the senior tax exemption. 

In the past, the town has offered a circuit breaker exemption for residents earning less than $28,000 each year. For all residents 65 and older who earned more than $28,000 each year, there was a flat rate senior exemption; last year the senior exemption offered older residents a $368 reduction on their property tax bill, regardless of how much money they earned. The new senior tax exemption will be income-based, and in order to establish how much money residents can save on their tax bills, officials are calling for income information.

A number of older residents are not happy with the shift. They have attended meetings of the ad hoc tax exemption committee, called town officials, and written letters to the newspaper. 

Mr. Cunha said he believes much of the opposition is based in misunderstanding.

"The intention is not to hurt anyone," he said. "The intention was to help seniors who were significantly impacted by the middle school bond" and operating budget increases. 

"It's turned into a dog fight."

Many older residents said they do not feel comfortable sharing personal income information with the town. In a recent letter to the editor, LeRoy Czaskos wrote "The president of the United States of America does not have to share his income sources to anyone. So why are you requiring the senior citizens of Barrington "over-65" to supply you this information? Your action is simply elderly discrimination."

Some senior citizens in Barrington have said they feel that this change is an effort to force the elderly out of town. 

Maria Bridges wrote in a recent letter: "You should be encouraging senior citizens to stay in this town — we pay taxes regularly, supporting schools that we do not use, and are a valuable asset to Barrington."

Mr. Cunha offered this in response: "That's the exact opposite of what we're trying to do. We want to keep the senior citizens in town."

The town has set a Dec. 1 deadline to residents applying for the senior tax exemption.