Lincoln Select Board endorses senior tax circuit-breaker, declines to weigh in on plastics bans

LINCOLN -- April 26, 2021, Lincoln Select Board backs senior tax relief and a name change for itself, ducks three plastics bans. The board voted 3-0 April 26 to support a home-rule petition creating a property-tax circuit-breaker for residents over 65, with a first-year cap of one-half of 1 percent of the tax levy, about $175,000, adding roughly $73 to an average tax bill, rising to a 1 percent cap in years two and three. Member Jennifer Glass said the Property Tax Study Committee estimates 30 to 40 households would qualify. The board split 2-1 against taking a position on polystyrene, checkout-bag and plastic-straw bylaws brought by Mothers Out Front and the Lincoln-Sudbury Environmental Club; Jonathan Dwyer said the petitions did not meet the board's standing test of "town-wide significance" or service impact, with Glass dissenting. The board also voted 3-0 to support renaming itself the Select Board under Article 24, and 2-0-1, Dwyer abstaining, to rename the Council on Aging the Department of Human Services and Council on Aging. Town Administrator Tim Higgins reported three new COVID cases and confirmed the swap shed reopens May 8 with a four-person capacity cap.