GREENFIELD — City Council unanimously approved a local tax option Thursday night that will allow residents and businesses to donate to elderly and disabled residents who are struggling to pay their taxes.

With the vote, Greenfield joins about 30 Massachusetts cities and towns that have already enacted similar funds under a 1998 state law allowing municipalities to create tax donation funds “for the purpose of defraying the real estate taxes of elderly and disabled persons of low income.”

At-Large Councilor Wahab Minhas, one of the lead sponsors of the fund, referred to its passage as a “year’s worth of work [that] came to fruition” in an interview Friday.

“Essentially what this is is the city recognizing that taxes are not fun to pay, taxes are hard to pay, especially property taxes, and they are particularly high in the city … specifically for our elderly and disabled folks who are living on a fixed income now and are at that stage of life where they can no longer work,” Minhas said before the council. “This will help people keep their homes, help them stay in their homes in a humane and just way.”

The tax option, Minhas explained, gives taxpaying individuals, businesses and organizations the ability to “chip in” to the fund on their annual tax bills. He said donations will be redistributed to elderly and disabled residents through a voluntary committee that will operate under the mayor’s jurisdiction.

Minhas noted that with the rising cost of living and Greenfield’s aging population, the tax option aims to help prevent residents from choosing between property tax payments and paying for basic needs such as food and medicine.

“I have faith that members of our business community and our individuals who do have the capacity to help will chip in. … This reflects a change in our administration and a revived council to say that we are on your side, to tell people ‘We’re here to help you.’ We’re not just some bureaucratic body or authoritarian body that just does whatever. We’re here to actively help you,” Minhas continued.

A motion to approve the tax fund came before City Council after multiple residents spoke in support of it during public comment, including Lewis Gordon of Davis Street, who said he fell delinquent on his taxes because of his disability. He owed the city $27,000. Gordon said he made a plan to pay the city back in three to five years, which the city did not accept.

“In 2019, under the threat of foreclosure and getting absolutely nothing, I sold my house, which I had bought in 2014 for $166,000. … After paying back the taxes I owed, I had $2,600 left, which I used to buy a trailer to live in. Then, I was told it was illegal to live in a trailer,” Gordon said. “I lost absolutely everything.”

Precinct 8 Councilor Lora Wondolowski, speaking in favor of the fund, thanked Gordon for sharing his story, and noted that foreclosures due to negligent property tax payments have become a problem in the city.

“To see our neighbors being turned out of their homes … this is a real issue, and [this fund] is something we can do as a community to lift people up instead of pulling them down,” Wondolowski said.

Others, such as Precinct 2 Councilor Rachel Gordon, who said she received dozens of emails from residents in support of the tax fund, spoke in support of it, calling it a “win-win.”

Minhas said the creation of the tax fund recognizes the high costs of basic necessities in 2024, and residents should know they are not alone.

“We can’t do too much,” he said, “but we’ll try the best that we can and we’re here for you and you are not alone.”

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.