OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Arkwright Town Board member Larry Ball inquired about a Town property tax exemption for low income senior citizens at a recent Town Board meeting.

ARKWRIGHT — A senior member of the Town Board clashed with the Town Supervisor at a recent meeting when it came to a tax exemption for low income senior citizens of the Town.

Board member Larry Ball pushed for a low income tax exemption for senior citizens in the Town of Arkwright at a recent meeting. The Chautauqua County Legislature recently passed a resolution to raise the limit from $22,000 to the State limit of $58,400 for senior citizens to qualify for low income relief up to 50% of assessed property value.

“I would be supportive of the Town doing something like that,” Ball said.

The topic came up at a recent meeting of the Silver Creek Village Board, as Trustee Kathy Tampio credited the Chautauqua County Legislature for passing the resolution regarding the Senior Partial Property Tax Exemption. Tampio noted that many seniors were set to be impacted by an increase in social security, which could have made them ineligible for the tax exemption. Several assessors brought up the increase to the County to keep from having seniors lose the exemption because of the increase.

“I’m very happy to see that the County did it,” Tampio said. “… It’s important to our seniors that are just making it.”

When Ball raised the issue to the Arkwright Town Board to express an interest in adopting a similar resolution to apply to the Town taxes, in addition to the County tax exemption, Town Supervisor Brian McAvoy did not wish to move the topic forward.

“The Town doesn’t have to mirror what the County does,” McAvoy said. “… I think we should stay in our lane.”

McAvoy explained his stance by highlighting the difficulty of applying tax exemptions. “We struggle to get people’s tax bills for them. The more exceptions we try to manage on our own, the more chances we have of making mistakes,” McAvoy said. “… From the Town’s perspective, we need to be selective.”

McAvoy added that he has no issue with the County exemption, but if the Town approved an exemption of its own, senior citizens would be “double dipping” on the benefits.

Ball responded by noting concerns of accessibility of the County Assessor’s office. Ball then shared a sentiment he claims to have heard from Town residents that the Board is not doing enough for its residents with the added benefits from the host agreement with windmills in the Town.

“The problem I see with that is, these exemptions are well intentioned, but they are too selective,” McAvoy said. “… I would rather talk about a broad based credit of some sort.”

Board member Chris Jackson also defended the Town Board against the claim that the Board is not doing enough. He noted equipment and infrastructure upgrades and the improvement of several Town roads.

“We are doing a lot for this Town,” Jackson said.