CCA-controlled Council to advance town budget that raises
taxes for the seventh straight year
By Will Collette
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| Source: Charlestown Tax Assessor web page. The CCA took over control in Charlestown in 2008 and raised taxes every year. The new rate of $10.10 wil be the highest since 2004. |
The new, improved Charlestown Citizens Alliance Rump
Committee, also known as the Charlestown Town Council, meets on Monday. This is
a meeting they could have phoned in, since as you can see in the official
agenda below, there’s almost nothing there to discuss. But since the CCA Party
took control of every elected office in Charlestown, they can get away with
stuff like that.
At the front end, the Council will issue a resolution
marking the recent death of Henry Walsh, a man they did not
respect in life but who will now be “honored” with a document oddly labelled “Walsh Reso Respect” in the town’s
on-line version of the agenda. I am not making this up. Stay classy,
CCA.
They will discuss the proposed budget and while would
normally be a big deal in other towns with other political dynamics, here in
Charlestown it is what it is. Taxes will go up again, for the seventh year in a row, as I predicted. Under the proposed budget, taxes will go up by 2.36% to a new
rate of $10.10 per $1,000 of valuation. The budget calls for raising more than half a million dollars more.
Every single year the CCA has controlled Charlestown town
government, they have raised taxes. Every year. And every year, they claim they
are saving the taxpayers money. Watch them do it again this year.
And every year, town taxpayers swallow that bullshit whole. I
don’t expect this year to be any different and I doubt there will be much of
value said about this budget at Monday’s meeting. So it goes.
This new budget package will also include a new $2 million
bond issue solely for open space acquisition and excluding recreation. We’re
not really going to need any new recreation money since, signaled by the ouster of Parks & Recreation Director Jay Primiano, the CCA Party plans to padlock
Ninigret Park for active recreation use after this season.
There are a number of recreational events on the agenda,
including Rhythm and Roots, but according to the advance agenda, they will not
be discussed and will instead be largely considered under the “consent agenda.”
After disposing of the numerous consent agenda items with
one vote and no discussion or debate (simply reading off the consent agenda
items will take longer than the Council’s actual action), the Council then
moves on to the weighty matters of the evening.
Namely, they will discuss their outrage and/or support for several measures being considered by the General
Assembly, including my favorite, the “Taylor
Swift Tax.” That’s a state property tax on $1 million-plus properties owned
by non-residents.
I love the idea of the Taylor Swift Tax so naturally, the
CCA-controlled Council hates it, especially since they
get most of their campaign funding from rich non-residents with those
million dollar properties.
Anyway, they will get a chance to do a little partisan
blustering and political show-boating. Then they will pass a resolution
ordering the dispatch of a letter expressing their outrage and/or delight at
each item to every member of the General Assembly, the news media and all the ships at sea.
Hey guys, let me tell you a little secret. NOBODY in the General Assembly gives a
Flip about what the Charlestown Town Council thinks about ANY issue. Except maybe Flip
Filippi. Or maybe alleged police
impersonator state Senator Elaine Morgan.
Ah, that’s feels better now that we’ve cleared that up. So,
without further ado, here’s the Monday agenda. The links are all developed by
the town and tie into the new IQM2 public access system that replaced the
cranky old Clerkbase system.
Charlestown Town Council
Regular Meeting 4/13/2015 7:00 PM Council Chambers
Town Hall 4540 South County
Trail Charlestown, RI 02813
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