Seniors can help themselves and their community

Arizona Tax Revolt commentary:

Let’s look at this outrageous suggestion objectively… The proposal in a nut shell is to SH T on out seniors even though we are destined to be seniors ourselves, rather than addressing the real problem which is that we have a government which is morally bankrupt and devoid of any semblance of fiscal restraint. Arizona property taxing entities under our out-of-control property taxation system are more concerned with bureaucratic self preservation, than providing necessary and affordable services to their constituents.

Under this proposal which fails to even consider the need to reduce governments appetite for our tax dollars, a number of seniors would be hired and paid using tax revenue albeit at slave wages of $7 per hour. Read the following nonsense for yourself and do your part by collecting even more signatures to put the Tax Revolt initiatives on the ballot, or face a $7 per hour job working for the government to collect property taxes from others that like you, that can not pay.

Marc Goldstone, Chair.
Arizona Tax Revolt

Published: January 03, 2008
Kingman Daily Miner
By Suzanne Adams

Here's a novel idea for the new year that's sure to put me on some seniors' naughty lists.

CNN recently ran a story from the Associated Press on its Web site about a clever little plan a town in New York has to help seniors pay their property taxes.

The city of Greenburgh, N.Y., wants to create a program to hire seniors, part time for $7 an hour, to help them pay off their property taxes.

According to the AP, the town has the third-highest homeowner property tax in the nation. One senior quoted in the story said she gets $620 from Social Security a month and pays $12,000 a year in property taxes for a four-bedroom home.

Town Supervisor Paul Feiner said he could see seniors mentoring schoolchildren, retired accountants helping with the city finances and retired lawyers offering their services at a discount.

And there are plenty of other less-skilled jobs that seniors could help with around town, he said, such as being a receptionist, helping with city landscaping, clipping newspapers and staffing information booths.

Greenburgh wouldn't be the first town that has considered the idea.

Boulder County, Colo., has offered a similar program since 1986. The program has 100 openings and more than 250 applicants, said program spokeswoman Barbara Halpin.

Concord, Mass., started a similar program in 1999.

I think this is a great idea. The county already has one program that is designed to help seniors on fixed incomes with their property taxes, but I think this is a much better idea.

It preserves the dignity of seniors. They don't have to feel like they're asking for a handout from the government and they don't have to lose the home they worked so long and hard to pay for.

Many seniors, I think, would jump at the chance, and not just for the help with their taxes. Some of the seniors I know volunteer in the community or hold a part-time job just to get out of the house.

I worked as a retail sales clerk in high school and college. Many of my co-workers were retirees who just worked for the discount at the store and/or to earn a little spending money.

There's probably a large group of people that would argue with me over the feasibility of this idea.

Some would say, how would the county organize and manage such a program? There are several different taxing districts in the county. How would the county distribute the money correctly to the different districts?

I would say the same way that they do now. All that tax money gets funneled through the County Treasurer's Office and down to the state correctly now. What would be the difference? There might be more paperwork by the treasurer or the assessor in order to create funds to hold the money in until it came time to pay taxes, but that's not much different than managing the different funds for the different county departments.

As to distributing the money equally, why not just have the money collected go to paying off county taxes. According to its Web site, Boulder County's program only applies to county taxes.

Others would say that it's another waste of taxpayers' dollars. You would have to spend time and money training seniors to answer phones, direct calls and give directions to visitors.

I say it's cheaper than paying someone 40 hours a week to answer phones. And wouldn't you have to pay to train a full-time person?

Besides, I know some seniors that can out-surf and out-search me on the Internet. One of the lessons I've learned in my short life is, don't underestimate a senior when it comes to technology.

After writing this, I'll probably get a number of calls from seniors saying they retired for a reason. They don't want to work any more. They paid their dues and it's not fair that the government is raising their property taxes.

You're right, it's not fair that property taxes are going through the roof around here, but you are not the only ones that are paying higher taxes. There are many families with children and young couples struggling to pay those same taxes. I'm sure there are some of them working two jobs in order to support themselves.

At the same time, the cost of goods and services are going up. The government has to pay the same high prices for gasoline, electricity and other items as you do. As my boyfriend would say, "A fair is a place with rides and cotton candy. Life's not fair."

Those residents who don't want to join the program don't have to. But what about seniors who can't physically work? The county could limit the number of hours they can work in a day or have them apply to the county's current property value freeze program.

The county currently has a program that can help seniors over the age of 65 freeze the value of their home and help control the amount of taxes they pay each year.

There are some requirements to meet in order to apply for the tax value freeze program. The senior must be at least 65 years old, they must own the house, it must be their primary place of residence and they must have lived in the home for at least two years.

If the application is approved by the Assessor's Office, the value of the home is frozen for three years. At the end of the three years, the homeowner must apply again to the program.

However, I think there are a number of benefits to Greenburgh's and Boulder County's senior tax programs besides helping seniors pay their taxes.

First, it gets seniors out and into the community. This benefits both the seniors and the community. Seniors get the benefit of socializing with different people. The community gets the wit and wisdom of the senior.

Some of the most interesting people I have interviewed have been seniors. They have the greatest store of first-hand knowledge of events, people, places and things. They also have a lifetime of experience they can pass on to the young generations.

Second, as I said before, it helps preserve the dignity of seniors. There are some people who would be offended or embarrassed to ask for help with their taxes. This program would let them control the situation.

Third, the community and the government would receive a financial benefit from the program. Having seniors work part time might help fill some of the positions in the county at a lower cost than hiring someone full time.

Last, it gets seniors moving and thinking. Medical studies have shown that the more a person exercises, the better their mental and physical health is. Exercise can be something as simple as walking or gardening. According to the AP story, Boulder County has seniors helping with landscaping and gathering climate data for the county.

It would also have seniors engaging with the public and using logical thinking skills to help residents. Medical studies show the more people exercise their brain through reading, interaction with others and brain teasers, the more they retain their memory and cognitive skills.

I think a senior tax work-off program is a great idea. It seems to have worked in other areas, why not try it here?