Seniors are burdened

To the Editor:

Referring to your editorial in the April 19-25 edition of the Herald, (“Village tax hike should be the last for a while,”) I do agree with your comments but would like to stress the special financial burden placed on seniors in the village. In order to receive any discount on the village tax, the current annual income limit for seniors is $28,899. With a yearly income of under $30,000, you cannot afford to own, let alone maintain, a house in the village. Even if you are able to do a lot of the lighter maintanence yourself, things like painting, cleaning, gardening and other small repairs, it leaves no budget for major repairs or restorations like a new roof, a new furnace, replacing parts of a sidewalk or an aging sewer line, plus you also have to pay real estate taxes and various insurance premiums. In comparison, the current income limit for “Partial Tax Exemption for Real Property of Aged Persons” (School and General Taxes) is $37, 399.

A healthy community consists of a good representation of all age groups, however, with an upcoming increase in the village tax and no increase of the tax relief income level, some seniors will be forced to move out of the place they have come to love for decades.