Cinnaminson’s deputy mayor wants to explore starting a senior citizens’ advisory committee so that constituency—which hasn’t been adequately represented, he said—can voice their opinions to the township.
The issue was discussed at Monday’s township committee meeting although Anthony Minniti, the township’s deputy mayor, was not in attendance.
He said Tuesday the committee would be about “opening the lines of communication.”
Minniti envisions a group of about seven senior citizens who would meet monthly and “comment on issues that are pertinent to our senior residents.”
The group wouldn’t be unlike the parks and recreation committee whose meetings are open to the public to discuss parks and recreation issues.
“Every other group in town has that ability and really, we don’t have anything for our seniors,” Minniti said.
Committeewoman Kathy Fitzpatrick, who serves as the director of health and senior services, said she agrees with Minniti.
“An ad hoc committee to give us some insight as to what would be beneficial to seniors [would be very helpful],” she said.
Minniti said this group would have real appointments, with a chairperson and a meetings schedule. Township committee would decide who the liaison to the group would be and just what kind of committee it would be.
“We want to give them a voice or an avenue for better formal communication,” Minniti said.
1. From each home the township collects around $5000 in school taxes. 2. Since it cost Cinnaminson $14,463 to educate each student, to educate three children from a family it would cost the township $43,389. 3. So the township would save $43,389 from every senior family that has no children versus a family that has three children. It seems to me that the best way for the township to better manage the cost of education is to offer an incentive for seniors to own single homes in Cinnaminson. The best incentive to encourage seniors to buy in Cinnaminson (or not flee Cinnaminson for low tax southern locales) is to give seniors a generous break on property taxes. This incentive would not only encourage area senior to buy into Cinnaminson, the added demand on buying houses would also help our home prices rise. (And raise assessed values for the tax collector.) It is a win-win for everyone. We wouldn’t even need to build a new high school just because the superintendent thinks somehow CHS will gain a 100 more students. (God only knows where they will live. There is very little land left to build upon.)