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Supports and Appreciates

Although I am not yet a senior, I am writing to ask my fellow non-seniors to support the proposed tax relief ordinance that will freeze taxes on qualified Madison senior citizens.

We are all painfully aware that taxes have risen in Madison over the past several years, and now it is to a point where seniors are in danger of being taxed out of their homes. Seniors have contributed to the budgets of Madison for many years, and now that they no longer use the most expensive town service, the school system, they are finding their tax bills to be rising much faster than are their fixed incomes. You may be thinking, “OK then, leave and find a cheaper area to live.” Well, if they do, Madison loses a critical revenue base. We lose people who contribute to the system without using its resources. That will result in greater tax increases for everyone who remains, or worse yet, Madison will become a town where new buyers cannot afford to live. What happens then to property values? They will drop further, and then our mill rate will have to rise to cover our growing budgets. The potential consequences are much greater than the small increase the rest of us may see by supporting this ordinance.

The fact that taxes have continued to rise despite much lower school enrollment numbers is a much bigger problem that the town officials must begin to deal with. But until then, let’s show our seniors that Madison supports them and appreciates them. I encourage your readers to vote “Yes” in the referendum that is coming up on Thursday, Jan. 26 at the Polson School.

Janet Nicolini

Madison