Wednesday, May 22, 2013
City delegation requests Budget Commission briefing before Senate, House bills are reconciled.
Woonsocket’s supplemental tax bill raising an extra $2.5 million this year, added to the future tax base, passed the RI House of Representatives tonight. The city's legislative delegation is asking for a briefing from the Woonsocket Budget Commission on the progress made on the balance of its five-year plan for fiscal solvency before the House version is reconciled with the Senate's. The supplemental tax is among the most potent in the array of tools the Budget Commission intends to use in its 5-year plan to repair the city's chronic financial shortfalls. But all of them are necessary to make the plan work and avoid calling in a receiver, Commission members say. Council President and Budget Commission member John Ward noted there's a …
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Assessor says he'll need three weeks to send out bills, Board OKs police uniform allowances.
The Woonsocket Budget Commission briefly discussed canceling accounts payable as an option in the event the $2.5 million supplemental tax bill, to be considered by the full RI House tomorrow, doesn't pass. The RI Senate has already passed its version of the bill, S-0820, sponsored by by Senators Marc Cote (D-Dist 24) and Roger Picard (D-Dist. 20). Should the House bill, H-6103, sponsored by Rep. Lisa Baldelli-Hunt, (D-Dist. 49) and co-sponsored by Reps. Stephen Casey (D-Dist. 50) and Bob Phillips (D-Dist. 51), pass Wednesday, more time will be needed to reconcile it with the Senate bill. Last week, Council President and Budget Commission member John Ward noted there's a shrinking window to pass the supplemental tax in time to mail out…
Friday, May 17, 2013
Local reps' bill to add $2.5 million to tax base scheduled for May 22 hearing.
The House Municipal Government Committee sent local representatives' Supplemental Tax Bill to the full house yesterday, recommending passage, putting Woonsocket at least seven days behind its billing deadline. Budget Commission member and Council President John Ward said ideally, the measure would've needed to pass by May 15 to give the city plenty of time to send out bills. Should the bill, sponsored by Rep. Lisa Baldelli-Hunt, (D-Dist. 49) and co-sponsored by Reps. Stephen Casey (D-Dist. 50) and Bob Phillips (D-Dist. 51), pass Wednesday, additional time will be needed to reconcile it with the Senate version, S-0820, introduced by Senators Marc Cote (D-Dist 24) and Roger Picard's (D-Dist. 20). Ward said the crucial thing the Senate …
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Council President John Ward says time is running out to pass tax and send out bills.
With local senators' supplemental tax bill passed May 9, the next step in the fate of the $2.5 million the Budget Commission intends to add to the tax base rests in the House tonight, a day past the deadline to send bills out in time. The House Municipal Government Committee will hear the bill tonight at 5 p.m., but Budget Commissioner and Council President John Ward said the goal was to get the bill approved, then send out tax bills ahead of June 30. "Which means that the goal was to have it by yesterday. So We're already running late," Ward said. The process, albeit with a smaller supplemental tax, is following a course similar to last year. This time, however, the companion bill, House 6103, is sponsored directly by Rep. Lisa …
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
All six members present voted to approve the bill, which is on the full Senate calendar for Thursday.
All five RI Senate Finance Committee members present voted to approve Senators Marc Cote D-Dist 24 and Roger Picard's (D-Dist. 20) supplemental tax bill, S820, Tuesday afternoon. The bill, which would allow the City of Woonsocket to raise taxes beyond the four percent cap, adding $2.5 million to the base as part of the Woonsocket Budget Commission's 5-year-plan, is now on the Senate calendar for Thursday, May 9. "The supplemental tax will be raised by increasing the levy on motor vehicles and trailers by up to twelve and seven tenths percent (12.7%) and by increasing the levy on residential real estate, including residential properties with eleven units or more by up to four and six tenths percent (4.6%) for the city’s fiscal year 2012…
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Two meetings with General Assembly reps lead to tax hike distributed across all residential classes.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the payments required for the supplemental tax. The supplemental bill will be due one month after its mailing. Break out your calculators again, and keep them handy - Woonsocket's General Assembly members have a new supplemental tax proposal that spreads the $2.5 million burden across all residential classes. Forget the Homestead Exemption reduction - car tax combo the Budget Commission approved Feb. 26. Instead, all residential property and commercial-residential properties with 11 units or more will each get a 4.4 percent supplemental tax bill due one month after taxpayers receive their bills. Vehicle owners will get a 12.5 percent supplemental tax bill: Residential: $1.42 per $…
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Budget Commission has received about 100 letters from retirees asking questions about the new pension, healthcare rules.
There are 790 city retirees working out what static pensions and moving to either a uniform city healthcare plan or medicare will mean for their personal budgets, and most are handling that solo. Rosemary Booth Galloogly, RI Director of Revenue, explained the new pension and healthcare terms for retirees during a Feb. 25 meeting at Woonsocket High School. The changes are the retirees' part in the Budget Commission's plan to make up the city's $14.5 million deficit. Those changes are: Gallogly recommended that retirees organize and hire an attorney to arrange a binding agreement with safeguards and checks to make sure the city stays on top of its pension obligations in the future. "The vast majority, as far as I know, have not organized …
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Woonsocket City Hall
169 Main St, Woonsocket, RI
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Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Tax Assessor presents five options, sparing commercial taxpayers gets nod.
Chris Celeste, Woonsocket tax assessor, presented five plans for collecting the annual extra $2.5 million the city needs to balance its books, with one Budget Commissioner weighing in for commercial taxpayers. The rest of the Commission took his lead. "I'm a bad guy on this," warned member Peder Schaefer, noting his opinion that the difference between the commercial and residential tax rates is too high, and the earlier plan to phase-out the homestead exemption through 2026 is too slow. According to the tax assessor's page on the city website, the residential rate is $32.26 per $1,000 valuation. The commercial rate is $38.27 per $1,000 valuation. But the homestead exemption gives taxpayers in single-family homes and condos a 39 percent …
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Board to discuss how to assess bills to add 4.5 percent onto 2012 levy on Tuesday.
Editor's note: The total $14.5 million deficit figure comes from the $10 million cumulative deficit, combined with the $4.5 million the Budget Commission added to the School Department budget in 2012, bringing schools up to $66.9 million. After months of audits and meetings, Woonsocket has a five-year plan to solve its $14.5 million deficit, including a smaller supplemental tax increase added to the base than proposed last year. The "more modest" supplemental tax would add $2.1 million more to this year's budget, a 4.5 percent increase on the 2012 tax levy, said Tax Assessor Chris Celeste. He noted the city has already taxed up to the state's 4 percent increase limit this year. At the Feb. 4 Budget Commission meeting, City Finance …
Friday, February 1, 2013
Savings through concessions will be city's first, biggest hurdle in multi-faceted plan.
Editor's note: The total deficit figure comes from the $10 million cumulative deficit, combined with the $4.5 million the Budget Commission added to the School Department budget in 2012, Finance Director Thomas Bruce said, bringing it up to $66.9 million. The City's $14.5 million deficit can be dispelled with union concessions, cost cutting and a "deficit reduction legislative package" including a smaller supplemental tax than proposed in 2012, said City Finance Director Thomas Bruce. If most of those elements don't fall in place before June 30, the deadline for sending out tax bills, Woonsocket will find itself in the same boat as last year, when $12 million in state aid had to be advanced by the Budget Commission to keep the School …
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169 Main St, Woonsocket, RI
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XBOXONE RULES
9:08 pm on Saturday, May 25, 2013
this fight is a losing battle. Actually Lincoln,North Smithfield and Cumberland have lower property taxes so there is incentive to leave. Why should people stay? more ›