Anne R. George: City should help seniors keep their homes

If we can provide an elder or a person with disabilities in Greenfield with a little help in covering their property taxes, it’s an investment in our entire community. We are an increasingly diverse community and should work to keep it that way. Property tax bills are perhaps the biggest investment an elderly person has to make each year. If we can keep someone from falling too far behind to catch up, we can prevent the downward spin into foreclosure — one of the worst things that can happen to an older or disabled person.

Our state is of only nine states left that keeps excess home equity. There are some other ways that can help, circuit breakers and property tax works-offs, but not everyone can do the things required for those kinds of assistance.

I’d like to see Greenfield in the good news columns more often. Greenfield recently has been in the Globe, Recorder and Channel 5 Boston over our “home equity theft” cases. Let’s get some positive press stories about our effort to keep seniors in their homes — not taking them away, with no “just compensation.”

The City Council should hit this pitch out of the park!

Anne R. George

Greenfield