Seniors enjoy volunteering, and communities win, too
Norman "Chick" Daigle collects payment from men who show up twice a week at the Carlisle school gym to play basketball. Dick Serveyn hands out canned goods at Westford's food bank. Barbara McRae sorts and sells clothing at the thrift shop on the second floor of the Littleton Town Hall.
These volunteers, all in the 60-plus age group, cite the usual reasons for pitching in: to put their retirement years to good use, to give back to their community, to stay socially connected with their neighbors. But they are also gaining something else: The hours they work for their towns provide them with a break on their property taxes through a state-sanctioned senior tax voucher program.
Municipalities throughout Massachusetts run the program. They receive an allotment from the state, decide how much to allow each participant to earn - $700 to $800 over the course of 100 hours a year is typical - and then accept as many candidates 60 and older as they can afford. The program has a few offshoots, such as Bedford's Senior Employment Program, which has no requirement that wages be applied to property taxes only. It can also be applied to the tax portion of seniors' rent.
McRae of Littleton has served in a variety of jobs to earn the $550 that will be deducted from her Littleton tax bill this year and thinks the program is a good deal for seniors.
"I manage the thrift shop, serve at the monthly men's breakfast, help with the senior lunch program. I do whatever is asked of me," she said last week. "I think this is a great program for seniors. Volunteering is always satisfying, but this way we are receiving something in exchange for our time. And that helps a lot, especially with the way property taxes are now increasing."
McRae draws upon her background - she worked in accounting and also ran an art gallery - to enhance her volunteer capabilities, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by her supervisor at Town Hall.
"Barbara has a degree in fashion design and makes our thrift shop look like Bloomingdale's," said Carolyn Sloboda, director of the Littleton Council on Aging, who oversees the town's senior voucher program.
But in most cases, the seniors' specific professional backgrounds are less important than their overall enthusiasm.
Before retirement, Ray Taylor of Carlisle worked as an attorney and an engineer. As a participant in the tax voucher program, he answers phones when the town administrator's secretary is away, files census forms for the town clerk, and helps write grant proposals for the Council on Aging.
Angela Smith, outreach coordinator for the Carlisle Council on Aging, said the diversity of Taylor's tasks is unusual, though. Working in conjunction with an advisory board, Smith usually matches people to one specific job.
Dorothy Hall has served as the volunteer administrator of the senior tax voucher program in Westford since it was first offered in the mid-1990s. With about 30 spaces available annually for 90 applicants, she says she rotates the list each year to give as many residents as possible an opportunity to take part.
"Our volunteers do a variety of things - file, answer phones, work in the schools with the teachers, work in the library," Hall said.
Carlisle Town Clerk Charlene Hinton can't say enough good things about the seniors, as well as other volunteers, who put in a few hours at Town Hall.
"It has been my experience that the senior tax workers do a wonderful job," she said.
"We have so many talented volunteers who have gone out of their way to help out, as well as so many truly dedicated town employees. Sometimes the good that comes of programs like this gets overlooked when everyone is focusing on budgets and plans for scaling back and controlling town costs and services in the wake of reduced state aid."
Smith calls it the ultimate win-win situation. "It's a great program because it allows the town to take advantage of the skills of seniors while providing the seniors an opportunity for some tax relief," she said.
While the tax break helps, the seniors make it clear that they are having fun.
"I really feel like I'm contributing something," Daigle said about his twice-weekly commitment to overseeing the men's basketball night.
"I enjoy what I'm doing, and I've gotten to meet a great bunch of guys who get together and play basketball, from kids just out of high school to men in their 60s."
And there's no question that Ann Wright of Carlisle, who has worked as an assistant to the town clerk for five years, enjoys her work.
"I finished my quota of paid hours in January," she said last week.
"Now I'm here strictly on a volunteer basis, just because I love to do it."
Nancy Shohet West can be reached at nancyswest@hughes.net. 