With the Senior Citizen Property Tax Work-Off Abatement Program, high property taxes, low Social Security benefits, and strapped town budgets are getting some relief.

The state program has been adopted by Marion, Mattapoisett, and Rochester and allows senior citizens to work at town departments in exchange for a reduction in their property taxes. Although it is a state initiative, each town funds the program through its overlay reserve for tax abatements, a fund that also provides tax exemptions for veterans.

Because towns use their own money, Mattapoisett Town Treasurer Brenda Herbeck said, “Each town can adopt it and set their own rules.”

The minimum age, income, and amount earned are determined at the discretion of each town.

For Mattapoisett, which started its eleventh year of the program on November 1, seniors ages 60 and over at any income level can apply for the program. In Marion and Rochester, the minimum age is 62. Marion and Mattapoisett do not have a maximum income requirement; however, Rochester residents cannot exceed $45,000 per household to participate.

Although the state allows abatements of $1,000, each town has set the limit to $750. At a wage of $8 an hour, seniors can work approximately 93 hours to receive the full reduction in their property taxes.

While not everyone shoots for the maximum abatement, the senior workers provide thousands of extra man-hours to the towns’ departments.

“In return for help, they’re going to get a break, and it’s extremely helpful to the departments,” said Mattapoisett Council on Aging Director Jackie Coucci, who manages the applications and job assignments for the town.

In Mattapoisett, seniors perform a range of jobs from selling permits in the Treasurer’s Office during tax season to painting benches at Ned’s Point.

Some seniors also use their previous work experience to provide skilled labor for town departments while contributing to a program they care about.

Lois Ennis, Mattapoisett’s Town Clerk for 36 years, said she encouraged the town to adopt the work-off program.

“You can get some very experienced people without paying the benefits that you have to with full-time employees,” said Ennis.

As a retiree, Ennis now benefits from the work-off program and spends two hours each week working at the Council on Aging, doing many of the tasks she performed as town clerk.

“I had a vested interest in the council itself. I was happy to be doing that there,” she said.

In Rochester, the town’s Council on Aging has been able to beef up its programming and its facility through the work-off program.

“It’s really helped us because we have such a small paid staff,” said Director Sharon Lally.

With a maximum of 20 seniors in the work-off program, Lally said 13 help at the Council. “They do tasks that wouldn’t get done otherwise. If they come with an expertise, that saves us from hiring somebody to do that.”

For over six years, the program has been crucial for the council as well as for economically challenged seniors, said Lally. “We have people living on a Social Security check at $10,000 a year. The $750 is huge.”

Although Marion does not have Rochester’s household income restriction, retired resident Richard Depina said the program has alleviated some of his financial stress.

“I could use all the help I can get,” said Depina. Now in his third year of the work-off program, Depina is the morning crossing guard for Sippican School and tries to earn the full $750 each year.

“My wife works at the cafeteria and she has to be there at 8:30 a.m. I have to be here at 8:20 a.m., so it’s very convenient,” said Depina, who has become a staple at the school.

“I like it except when it’s cold and in the rain,” he said.

While all three towns voted the program in at their respective Town Meeting, Marion’s Council on Aging Director Susan Schwager said some were reticent to adopt it in her town.

First piloted in 2010, Marion’s work-off program has capped its number to 20 seniors.

“Being that the program is new, we didn’t want to make it unmanageable,” said Council on Aging Director Susan Schwager.

She said concerns about seniors taking the place of union employees was one reason the program was not voted in until 2010.

But Schwager and other officials said senior work-off jobs do not replace existing jobs, rather they fill-in for vacationing employees, do smaller tasks that don’t require an employee and help in places where a department’s budget is too tight for new hires.

In Marion, many seniors requested the program and the council pushed for the town to revisit it, said Schwager.

“Taxes are going up, social security is not,” said Schwager. “I found a need in the community for help with everyday living expenses like taxes, and this was one way to do it.”

Schwager said some department heads have been slow to take on the work-off program, and there are still some people who need to be placed in a position.

“But those who’ve used it have loved it. Hopefully, we’ll be getting more requests,” she said. “The library loves them. The police love them. It’s really a win-win situation.”