Requirements (Will follow 108 CMR 3.00 as closely as possible)

Residence: Veterans Service Officer (VSO) will make determination of the residence of an applicant

Military Service Requirements: Person must meet the eligibility requirements contained in M.G.L. c. 115 sections 1 & 6A. Discharge must have been under Honorable conditions.

Eligible Dependents: Spouse of the veteran; widow or widower of the veteran, or children who have not attained the age of majority (18).

Documentation: The VSO may require documentation deemed necessary to determine the eligibility and need of an applicant. These documents may include: lease, property tax bill or other documentation to determine residency; marriage license and or death certificate, separation decree, order for support, order for separate maintenance; birth certificate of adoption record; financial institution records; expense estimates and all documents which the VSO may require.

Guidelines

• Funds will be paid to the service provider, not the applicant
• Funds will be provided for emergency/unusual expenses or circumstances.
• Assistance provided will be determined by the VSO. It is expected that the applicant will provide a portion of the expense
• Repetitious requests will be approved only in extreme situations
• Fuel assistance will be considered only after all other sources have been utilized
• Transportation assistance will require pre-approval
• Assistance for food will be based upon the number of dependents living in the household. The amount per person will be set at $50.00 per week. Assistance will be provided for two weeks under usual situations.

“The Town of Greenfield reserves its right to alter these guidelines at anytime without prior notice.”

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Veterans’ Assistance Fund

Effective July 14, 2016 Chapter 141 of the Acts of 2016 modified MGL Ch60 with Section 3 allowing towns a voluntary check off box on property tax bills to donate money towards a “Veterans Assistance Fund” under the supervision of the Veterans’ Agent.

We ask this be adopted by the Town of Greenfield with the following recommendations:

• Town establishes a Veterans Council as an unpaid advisory board as authorized under M.G.L. Ch115 tasked with the following:
  • Define who is eligible to apply for assistance from the fund regarding residency, income, and discharge status, monetary limit, and criteria listed in Ch60 Section 3
  • Create an application for use by the VSO to investigate applicants using criteria listed above to determine eligibility and level of need
  • Create a tax-check off Form for inclusion in property tax bills
  • Create vendor list to purchase services eligible under Ch60 Section 3 so no funds are given to the applicant but directly to an eligible vendor
  • Meet quarterly to review expenditures or sooner if out of the ordinary fund requests are received
  • Appoint a Council Treasurer to report expenditures to Town Accountant
• Town Accountant establish account line-item for this fund
• Ensure Town Treasurer encloses tax-check off form with property tax billings
• Treasurer send line-item accounting of donations received to Veterans Council
• Veterans’ Council report monthly expenditures to Town Accountant to ensure accountability
• Any surplus in funds be rolled over every year in accordance with applicable laws

This fund is not to supplant MGL CH115 expenditures, but rather assist those above and beyond Ch115, or those who might not be eligible for Ch115 because of discharge status, or other emergency circumstances as defined by the above mentioned Veterans’ Council.

Posted: Thu, Nov 9, 2017 12:40 PM
Updated Fri, Apr 13, 2018 12:00 AM