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Bridgewater committee considers widening veterans and senior motor-vehicle tax exemptions
Summary
The Budget & Finance Committee discussed updating local eligibility for veterans and seniors motor-vehicle tax exemptions to allow more residents to qualify and to capture full state reimbursement; staff will ask the chief assessor to sponsor proposed legislative changes.
The Town of Bridgewater Budget & Finance Committee discussed potential changes to local implementation of veterans and senior motor-vehicle tax exemptions that members said could allow more residents to qualify without cost to the town.
Committee members said some exemptions already generate state reimbursement and that adjusting age or income thresholds could let more seniors claim credits. A committee member said the town could capture "a full 100% reimbursement from the state" for some senior credits, and the group agreed to ask the chief assessor, Mary, to consider sponsoring updated local legislation to lower the age or income threshold so more residents might qualify.
Discussion clarified current qualifying criteria: disability, spouse of a veteran, blindness, or certain active-duty deployments. Members noted that under current rules only a small number of seniors qualified in previous years and said the committee had not updated local thresholds in a long time.
Committee members flagged likely limits on state reimbursement and agreed to review statutory constraints before finalizing any local change. The committee did not take a formal vote on a final policy change at the meeting; staff and the assessor will follow up with draft language and additional analysis.
