Gold Star Lapel Button
Republican RTM Majority leader Ray Ingraham is asking the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) to adopt an ordinance that would give a property tax break to those Gold Star parents and spouses whose military family member was killed during military operations.
Towns and cities in Connecticut have the option to adopt such a law though they are not required to do so by a recent state law that took effect in October 2017. The state law provides a “municipal option property tax exemption for gold state parents and spouses.”
Ingraham told the Eagle that Middletown, Milford, and Waterbury have enacted the statute and Madison and Guilford are looking into it.
Now Branford is investigating whether to adopt the law for families or spouses whose family member “was killed in action, while performing active military duty with the armed forces.” Knowing how many families qualify will also help the committee determine if adopting the property tax exemption is a viable option.
Ingraham says the Rules and Ordinances (R&O) committee of the RTM, which oversees the laws governing the town, needs to know the number of Gold Star spouses and parents who reside in Branford and who may qualify under the new statute. He said the RTM committee needs the information for notification purposes. All information will be kept confidential, he said. Ingraham may be contacted at [email protected].
“The families are put under tremendous duress and deserve to be rewarded for their loved ones sacrifice. Most are not veterans themselves and would not qualify for regular tax breaks afforded war time veterans.” Ingraham wrote in a press release.
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The first meeting of the R & O committee takes place this Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Canoe Brook Senior Center. R&O meets the third Tuesday of every month. More meetings are likely to follow as the committee obtains information.
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