Letter: Vote on May 11

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To the Editor:

I am excited to endorse Albert Cummings for Select Board. I have known Albert for decades. I've watched him grow his business from building small additions and renovations to award winning residential and commercial masterpieces. Similarly, I have seen his music career evolve from playing the banjo on Community Auditions, to singing and playing guitar around a campfire, to sharing a stage with some of the greatest blues artists who ever walked the earth. Albert's success in these areas come from a strong work ethic, great people skills, a willingness to always learn new ideas while not casting aside those ideas that are time tested and proven, and the attitude that a job worth doing is worth doing right. These are skills and attributes that will serve our town well.

Albert approaches people, ideas, issues, and opportunities with an open mind. He possesses an uncanny ability to engage with people, put them at ease, and allow them to be heard and has the experience of making tough decisions.

I encourage everyone to vote on May 11.

Jay Merselis
Williamstown, Mass.

 

 


Tags: election 2021,   

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Williamstown Select Board Finalizes Property Tax Relief Measure for Town Meeting

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Select Board last week finalized a request to town meeting to change the parameters of a property tax relief program for residents aged 60 and over.
 
At last year's annual town meeting, members approved a proposal to lower the age of eligibility from 65 to 60 for the 41C senior exemption, which gives eligible residents a break of $1,000 on their property tax bills.
 
In order to open the program to more residents, the Select Board this year wants voters to okay increases to the income limit and asset limit for eligibility.
 
Currently in town, the income limits are $21,846 for a single person and $32,769 for a married couple. The asset maximums are $43,692 for a single person and $60,076 for a couple.
 
At its March 9 meeting, the four members of the board agreed those numbers should be raised from the current thresholds but could not agree on where to set the new limit.
 
Peter Beck had volunteered to come back to the March 23 session with some proposals based on his research. He reported last Monday that after looking at other income- and asset-restricted programs at the state and federal level, he found a variety of limits.
 
"I think all the numbers we were looking at a couple of weeks ago are reasonable," Beck said. "They're all backed up by some kind of program. … I'd propose doubling [Williamstown's income limit] which gets us to about 50 percent of the area median income: $44,000 for a single person, $66,000 for married.
 
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