SAUGUS — State Rep. Donald Wong said he is focused on saving town residents money through proposed Student Opportunity Act reforms and veterans and seniors property tax breaks.
The former Board of Selectmen member said he looks forward to working with board members elected next Tuesday on tax relief proposals.
The town Assessing Department lists tax exemptions ranging from $307 to $500 for residents 70 years and older and veterans tax exemptions ranging from $400 to $1,500, depending on the applicant’s specific disability and other considerations.
Wong said he wants to sit board members down and review tax relief options for local residents and discuss what he can do in the Legislature to approve relief proposals.
He said exemptions and other property tax relief options should be weighed against local housing costs incurred by veterans and seniors.
“I want the community they have lived in all of their lives to still be affordable,” Wong said.
Elected in 2010, Wong said his legislative work includes joining forces with fellow Lynn delegation members to support major proposals such as the Student Opportunity Act. But he also works on a wide range of Saugus-oriented legislation.
He worked to get state money allocated to buy a battery-operated Jaws of Life and a heavy-duty dryer for the Saugus Fire Department. An ultra-heavy tool used to free accident victims from crashed vehicles, the Jaws’ battery system makes it easier, Wong said, for firefighters to move the tool to difficult-to-reach crash sites.
He also helped secure state money to pay for Route 1 North’s repaving from Route 99 to the Lynnfield line.
“We’ve got the southbound side in the budget,” he said.
Headed for final legislative debate following its approval by the Massachusetts House last week, the Student Opportunity Act is intended to modernize how public schools are funded and inject $1.5 billion into local schools over a multi-year time period.
Wong said the proposal’s special education and transportation language is important to Saugus.
The Act calls for establishing a calculation formula for more accurately assessing special education costs. It also expands over a four-year period the special education circuit breaker, which reimburses districts for extraordinary special education costs, so it includes transportation costs in addition to instructional costs.
State money would pay for the reimbursements. But Wong said local officials would have a say over how the money is spent.
Wong said the potential for additional state money for Saugus schools is important at a time when major housing development proposals near Route 1 could result in increased local public school enrollment.
The cost of transporting students from future residences along Route 1 would be a town, not a state expense, noted Wong.
“That’s something important we need to budget,” he said.
