Pretty much everything about the town’s senior tax work-off program will be the same this year: the number of applicants, the number of people accepted, the hourly rate, the maximum number of hours allowed, and the budget for the program.
Debbie Thompson, director of the Council on Aging (COA), said 10 people applied for this year’s program and all were accepted. Applications were due Jan. 30, and Thompson said most of those accepted are already working. This year’s jobs are at the COA, the library, the schools, and the cable channel. In addition, a new job may be opening up in Town Hall later this year.
The senior tax work-off program allows any resident over the age of 60 who has lived in Harvard for at least a year to work up to 125 hours per calendar year in various town department jobs. There are currently no income limits for applicants. Each worker is paid $8 per hour ($3 less than the state’s minimum wage), resulting in a maximum of $1,000 that workers can earn.
The money earned by the end of the work-off year (Nov. 30) is deducted from the homeowner’s property tax. The town withholds federal income tax and a retirement contribution, although that contribution is reimbursable when a worker “retires” from the work-off program. The town pays for each worker’s share of Medicare tax. Only one abatement is allowed per property each year.
Less than state limits
In 2016, the state increased the maximum annual amount towns could pay workers in the program from $1,000 to $1,500, and the maximum hourly rate the state allows has always been minimum wage. The town could increase wages and maximums for the program, but Assistant Town Administrator Marie Sobalvarro told the Press that she is not aware of any discussions to raise either. She added that there are other positions in town, such as library pages and entry-level beach staff, that are not paid Massachusetts minimum wage.
Each year, the selectmen vote an amount to apportion to the senior tax work-off program, and for the past few years, that amount has been $10,000. If program maximums were increased, Sobalvarro said, either the town would have to put more money into the program or allow fewer recipients. She also noted that the total amount earned by workers each year has never reached the $10,000 amount. Thompson confirmed that, and she said a little more than $7,000 was earned by the nine people in the program last year. Four people worked the full 125 hours allowed, and a few more worked at least 100 hours. She said that if the number of applicants were to increase beyond the limits of the annual budget, applicants’ tax returns would be used to accept people with the lowest incomes first.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, the average single-family tax bill in Harvard increased by about $600 both this year and last year. Yet participation in the tax work-off program has remained at about the same level as it was a few years ago. Thompson said that participation has increased since she came here in 2011, when only three people were in the program. But she’s not sure why more people don’t apply.
Thompson cited recent discussions on Nextdoor Harvard regarding the low hourly wage paid to the senior workers as one reason people may think it’s not worth the effort. But she said that if she lived in Harvard, she would definitely apply to the program because it provides a chance to learn new skills and see the inner workings of different departments in town. For example, workers at the COA learn proper food preparation techniques and nutrition, she said. Plus, she added, even though the wages are low, “every little bit helps when you’re trying to pay your taxes.” Thompson’s job of choice if she were in the program? “Learning to run the cameras for the cable channel. I’d be all over that.”
