Making units more affordable for seniors

To the Editor,

We cannot expect Don Delson or Bill Cumby to subsidize units in the proposed 36-unit building, but I believe that there may be another way to make a portion of the units more accessible to senior citizens.

I suggest that if an elderly person or couple were to sell their Swarthmore residence for about or below the asking price of the units, and their total assets after purchasing the unit were about or less than that price, the borough and school system could consider a ten-year tax abatement for perhaps a quarter of the units. This would allow elderly to not devote their Social Security payment to taxes, and therefore continue to be a part of the community versus having to move to less expensive areas.

After the ten years, the borough and school system could re-evaluate the program and decide whether or not to continue the benefits. This would support some of the Swarthmore Aging-in-Place Task Force’s recommendations that recommended changes in existing policies to allow golden agers to remain active in the community.

William Menke
Swarthmore