Hormel Employees Credit Union is coming to the aid of the local AARP Tax Aide Service.

HECU will host the volunteer tax preparers' serving in 2003.

"The Hormel Employees Credit Union is very high on community involvement and this is one of the ways we can become involved in the community of Austin," said Lon Krueger, HECU's president and CEO. "We want to give them what the need to provide this valuable service."

Ken Rolfson, district coordinator for the tax aide program of AARP, was a part of the service in the beginning. That was 1986, when it was a Golden K Kiwanis Club program.

The volunteers have helped the elderly and low-income taxpayers from a variety of locations. Among them were the Mower County Senior Center, the old-First Bank Austin (now U.S. Bank Austin) and for the last six years, Austin Public Library.

"The Library Board notified us that they no longer could provide this service for economic reasons," said Merlyn Sellers, one of the long-time volunteers. "We want to thank them for the past use of their facility."

The volunteers have helped an ever-increasing number of people each tax season. Last year, the number exceeded 1,100. "Of that amount, 1,000 were electronic filings and the others were paper filings," said Ken Dahlgren, another long-time volunteer.

The number of taxpayers needing the service is now divided "50-50," according to Dahlgren between senior citizens and low-income young adults.

Originally, the service was called "Tax Counseling for the Elderly, when the focus was senior citizens, but now there are no age restrictions.

The services are all free of charge, but open only to individuals filing income tax reports and no farm or business filings.

Also, the service does not attempt to compete with commercial tax preparers' services.

Rolfson said the volunteers undergo training each December to prepare for the tax season ahead. He also said more volunteers are needed. "We've only got about 12 volunteers and more are always welcome to join us."

Funding for the computers, printers and other office equipment needed by the AARP team comes from the Internal Revenue Service (two-thirds of all financial expenses) and AARP (the other one third).

Hormel Foods Corporation donated four computers and Mayo Health System donated two printers to help the volunteers expedite the filings.

Dahlgren is a retired Hormel Foods engineer, Sellers was payroll supervisor for the Hormel Foods Austin plant; and Rolfson worked for the U.S. Postal Service, including a six year stint at the end of his career as the Lansing postmaster.