At its regular meeting November 14, the Board of Finance took up a requested review and initiated discussion about the Newtown Senior Tax Relief program.

Earlier this year, the Legislative Council sought to determine whether any changes needed to be made, after learning that 22 fewer applicants participated, and after all the maximum benefits were awarded, nearly a quarter million dollars of the allocated $1.65 million for the four-tiered abatement program went unused in the 2016 benefit cycle.

That led to a request for the finance board to participate in reviewing the current program and related data, in the hope its members would provide some input on how the council could work to increase participation, or whether the benefit allocation should be reduced, or increased if all parties agree there is reason to do so.

One suggestion was to consider increasing the benefit incrementally based on the longevity of an applicant's residence in town. So finance board Chairman James Gaston, Sr, indicated he would seek a legal opinion on that suggestion from the town attorney.

Mr Gaston told the board that he reviewed a number of meeting minutes from the council's Ordinance Committee, producing a package of "high points" for his board members to review and consider. In the first stage of discussion, Vice Chairman John Godin said he thought the program's income limits could be relaxed somewhat.

Noting that he had been following the process as officials previously discussed and eventually approved an asset cap, income verification sheet, and fourth tier for the formerly three-tiered program, the debate always came back to how generous it was, and how everyone's intent seemed to revolve around needs.

"We are the second best tax relief program in Connecticut after Redding, which has something closer to an open distribution of excess funds," Mr Godin said. "The surprise to me was the $249,000 surplus. My reaction is - up the income limit. If you up the income limit, my idea is more people will participate."

Mr Godin then suggested forming a subcommittee of the finance board to perform some deeper research to come up with a viable recommendation.

Finance Board member Kelley Johnson said she remains in favor of prioritizing a needs-based strategy for distribution.

At the same time, Ms Johnson remarked, "We need to be sure we don't have the Bill Gateses of the world moving into town and requesting a tax abatement. We need to be really careful of those limits; we're the custodians of the tax payers dollars."

Board member Mark Boland agreed, saying, "We need to make sure the money goes to the people who need it most."

First Selectman Pat Llodra, who attended, reminded finance board members that they had access to data on every single beneficiary, property value, and the amount of the individual benefits that were distributed.

Ms Johnson said that she had reviewed that list.

"The first person I recognized lives on the water and they have a boat, so if they have a boat, do they really have a need?" she asked rhetorically.

To that, colleague Sandy Roussas cautioned, "We have to tread carefully about making judgments about people's wealth. We don't know how people acquire [their possessions]."

Mr Godin reiterated, "I don't want this money not to be used - and I want it to go to those who need it most."

In July, Finance Director Robert Tait reported to the council that the program - while being utilized by fewer applicants and leaving about a one-third larger surplus than a year ago - appears to still be providing the greatest benefit to qualifying Newtown households that need it the most.

As of the close of this year's application period, there were actually two more applicants who qualified in the top benefit tier for those reporting $0 to $45,000 in household/individual income, with 355 in all receiving the maximum benefit of $2,525.

That bump up of two beneficiaries increased the payout in that top tier of benefits to $896,375, by far the largest chunk of the $1.65 million authorized for distribution this year.

Coincidentally, the only other tier that saw an increase in qualified beneficiaries provided the smallest benefit amount of $800. Three additional applicants qualified in the bottom tier aimed at households or individuals earning between $65,001 to $70,000.

In one of the two middle tiers, for households earning $55,001 to $65,000, the number of qualified applicants dropped by 18, representing the largest decline in qualifying applicants in any tier since 2014. The tier for households earning $45,001 to $55,000 dropped by three since last year.

A hypothetical scenario suggested by the finance board chairman for consideration would increase the current year benefits across all four tiers by combining the $1.65 million allocated in the current budget with the $249,000 surplus from 2015-16. In that scenario, Mr Gaston illustrated the implications of increasing the lowest two earning tiers by $250, the third tier by $200,and the highest earning tier by $100.

With nothing further to discuss on the matter November 14, Mr Gaston suggested his board members review any existing documentation and return for further deliberation at their next meeting.