By Carol Britton Meyer

Exploring options for lessening the tax burden on Hull’s older population is among the many recommendations in the recently completed needs assessment report to help longtime residents remain in their homes if they wish to do so.

That said, Hull Council on Aging member Robert Goldstein told the select board recently, “We have programs!” He added that many seniors “love this town and are concerned about the high costs associated with being able to stay in their homes, including water and other utility bills, and taxes.”

This is where the town’s tax-relief programs can benefit qualifying older residents.

These include:

- A personal exemption of $1,000 for seniors ages 65 and older who meet income/asset, home ownership, and other criteria;

- An “elderly tax-credit program” established in 2013 offering 13 slots that provide a maximum tax credit of up to $1,700 per person, based on certain qualifications determined by the assessor’s office. (Currently, the spots are not filled). This program requires participants to complete up to 125 hours of service to earn a tax-credit voucher, the value of which is based on the minimum wage ($14.25 in 2022), less Medicaid taxes.

While Goldstein said potential program alterations could provide more of a benefit to seniors and older residents who are caregivers to people in their homes, including decreasing the number of hours required to participate in the tax-credit program and increasing the maximum income for personal exemptions, it would take time to make these potential changes.

Also, it would need to be determined how much discretion the town has in changing the programs in the first place.

Select Board Chair Jennifer Constable said it’s “good to know the resources that are out there for seniors,” noting that “getting the word out to them” could be improved. Questions include, “Where did these numbers come from, how did the town adopt these programs, and what might we be able to do to [make them better]?” she said.

Despite the fact that “these programs aren’t perfect,” efforts to promote them will continue, Goldstein said.

Goldstein also discussed long- and short-term goals for the Anne M. Scully Senior Center at 197A Samoset Ave., including expanding capacity by adding a permanent satellite location dedicated to programming needs or “building a new space capable of meeting the increased demand of an aging population.”

Goldstein said that next steps could include creating a subcommittee of the COA to conduct a feasibility study of both options.

Although he said the value of the senior center to older residents “isn’t just about a new building, but rather about the [sense of] community offered there,” Goldstein does believe that “a new building is needed.”