According to a Waterville Sentinel article posted on the Sun Journal website (Feb. 7), in response to an elderly couple in Albion losing their home by foreclosure, Gov. Paul LePage urged state lawmakers “to protect the elderly from tax lien foreclosures [because] 12 elderly Mainers have lost their homes to foreclosure” in the past year. Apparently, the couple mentioned in the article lost the equity that was in their home as well.
We hope for a just, clear, specific tax law, especially tailored for the old — many of whom have supported the state’s infrastructure and town and state workers for their adult lives. In financial hardship and ill health now, the Albion couple had loyally paid for the stewardship owed them.
Lawmakers should consider how best to write and then vote to pass a specific bill dealing with the specific problem. We are very grateful for their stewardship to Maine communities. Legislators should welcome input from constituents.
If a just law passes, there will be extra effort from town clerks earning a proper wage. Compare their faithful efforts to what the elderly face every day. It is no easy task, but surely it is a task just to make the effort to stay alive.
The name of the pond on which the elderly couple lived — before their unfair legal eviction in 2015 — was named for the historic Lovejoy family. Elijah Lovejoy was an editor, martyred to a just cause. Lovejoy has an award named for him, granted each year by Colby College.
Ron and Susan Dorman, Bethel
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