The Village of Farmingdale, in our continuing efforts to assist our senior citizens, approved a resolution to increase the household income level to qualify more senior citizens for the Senior Real Estate Tax Exemption. The value used to qualify seniors for the benefit has not been adjusted for inflation since 1995. As a result of this board action, more Farmingdale seniors are now eligible to take advantage of this cost savings benefit.

To qualify for the exemption, the income of the resident owner or the combined income of all resident owners of the property must be less than $31,500. The minimum reduction for those who qualify is 10 percent of their village real property tax bill. A 50 percent reduction in village tax can be had for those with less than $24,000 in annual household income. The filing deadline for the next tax year is Dec. 31, 2005.

I encourage all eligible seniors to take advantage of the Village's Senior Tax Exemption. The Village Board is proud to support and recognize the seniors in our community with this very worthwhile benefit.

To take advantage of this program, you may visit Village Hall to pick up an application, call Village Hall at 249-0093 to request that an application be mailed to you or visit our Village website at www.FarmingdaleVillage.com and download a copy of the application.

Once again, I invite and encourage all of our residents to attend our trustee meetings. We welcome your suggestions on how we can make our Village the best place to live, work and play.