SWAMPSCOTT — Did you know the town has a Senior/Veteran Property Tax Work-off Program, where seniors can work 133 hours to accrue up to $2,000 taken off their property tax bill?
The program pairs different departments around town with residents who can assist with year-round or one-off special projects. In return, residents can accrue a wage of $15 an hour toward the maximum credit of $2,000 per household. While the credit earned is exempt from Massachusetts Income Tax, it’s still considered taxable income by the IRS, Medicare Tax and OBRA (Ominous Budget Reconciliation Act), according to the town’s website.
Jodi Watts, who runs the program, sat down to speak with The Daily Item about the background of the initiative and how she’s seen it benefit the community and its residents.
“If you’re 60 and above, people can apply online, they’re background checked, and we pair them up with different areas of town, like the Recreation Department, or we have volunteers that work in the library. … It’s really grown over the few years that we’ve run the program,” Watts said. “We’ve grown from about 16 to 70 volunteers.”
Watts added that other volunteers help out with the Department of Public Works (DPW), or in town hall in areas like finance or human resources. The Senior Center at 200R Essex St. also utilizes volunteers.
“We have nurses who do blood-pressure work, others who cook for the elderly at the Senior Center, they run book clubs … the Recreation Department uses volunteers at the Farmers’ Market, and downstairs (in Town Hall) we have some volunteers currently sitting right when you walk in, selling beach-stickers to residents,” Watts explained. “Whenever we have town elections, they help with early-voting and mailing votes. … They do all kinds of things around town.”
Watts said in order to benefit from the program, “residents have to be a homeowner” rather than living in a condo unit/apartment.
“It’s minimum wage price, we’re $15 an hour, so the volunteers have to work 133 hours to qualify for the full $2,000 and it goes on the December tax bill as a credit,” Watts said. “As it’s growing, it’s getting tougher to get hours for everybody, but we try to be really creative.”
She said veterans of any age can apply to volunteer for the credit.
Watts recounted one of the activities that stuck with her. “We do this activity called ‘Plocking,’ where people pick up litter while they walk, and it’s another one where anybody can do it. … We do it primarily on Humphrey Street, the DPW will come pick up the litter we’ve collected,” she said.
Assistant Town Clerk Michael Brison, who started off as a volunteer for the program several years ago before taking on his current role, spoke on his experience with the program.
“Neil Dechillo, who works here as a volunteer, told me about it … so, I applied and I got a job working here in the clerk’s office, and I think my first job was working on Census for several months,” Brison said. “It was a lot of fun, I had my career and was just looking for something else to do and a little extra income, and it led to a great position here.”
Director of Aging Services Heidi Whear, who helps promote the program and assign seniors to available volunteer spots, talked about the importance of volunteering.
“The benefit is that they can reduce their taxes and get reimbursed at a rate of $15 an hour … and I think it really helps the volunteers who come here feel an extra sense of purpose,” Whear said. “It’s not like we’re making things up for them to do, there are things we genuinely need help with. … It’s a win-win.”
