Zullo Eyes Tax Incentive for Elderly Housing Complexes to Combat COVID-19, Improve Sanitation
EAST HAVEN—State Rep. Joe Zullo on Tuesday said he’s worried about the impact the coronavirus outbreak will have in senior housing buildings, and that he intends to start a dialogue with his colleagues in Hartford about finding ways to incentivize and defray costs associated with enhanced virus-related sanitization efforts.
Zullo, Ranking Member of the legislature’s Housing Committee, stopped by two 55-and-over housing facilities on Tuesday to deliver 600 surgical face masks to residents and staff. The potential intersection of the highly-contagious COVID-19 and vulnerable residents in densely-packed buildings leaves Zullo with an uneasy feeling.
“I have little doubt that the hard-working staff in communities such as Woodview Elderly Housing and East Farms Village are doing everything they can to repel this insidious virus, but I can’t help but wonder if there’s something that government could do to help them bolster their efforts to keep these buildings as clean and safe as possible,” said Zullo, who teamed with East Haven Mayor Joe Carfora to deliver 350 of the masks to East Farms Village, where staff put the masks in residents’ mailboxes to maintain appropriate social distancing.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act recently passed by Congress includes funding that can be used to help cover the cost of sanitization efforts, but Zullo fears that senior housing communities that don’t offer medical services won’t qualify for the federal dollars.
“From business assistance to enhanced unemployment benefits, CARES offers a lot of good in what has rapidly become a difficult period for so many people,” Zullo said. “But there are gaps, and so far our State has done a good job at anticipating those gaps and attempting to fill them. I think this is one worth exploring soon.”
Zullo said he’ll start a conversation with his colleagues about having the state give municipalities the option to offer a dollar-for-dollar tax break (up to $5,000 on taxes due, beginning July 1, 2020) to any self-contained senior living facility that spends money between April 1st and August 1st to increase sanitation and cleanliness on its property.
The initial concept from Zullo would:
– Apply to “self-contained, age-restricted facilities,” but would not apply to age-restricted “planned unit developments,” standalone developments where housing is generally more spaced out, or health-care facilities like nursing homes;
– Incentivize spending on increased cleaning, sanitation, facemasks for residents, and other safety measures, which would count towards the dollar-for-dollar tax break;
-Permit municipalities to cap the number of facilities eligible for the tax-break and to offer it on a first-come, first serve basis.
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Pictured above: Rep. Joe Zullo, left, with Brian Nicoletti, property manager at Woodview. Rep. Zullo, right, and East Haven Mayor Joe Carfora, left, with Kevin Bubb, a maintenance staffer at East Farms Village