By Will Collette
To show how deeply motivated Jim Mageau is by his hatred for his enemies, former Council President Jim Mageau has sent the members of the Town Council an error-filled letter condemning the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee's proposal that Charlestown provide homeowners who make Charlestown their homes a $1000 Homestead Tax Credit.
In years past, Mageau has been a big supporter of cutting taxes for various groups of taxpayers. He has never come forward with a plan as practical and far-reaching as the CDTC's proposal, however. But despite all of his past positions on taxes, Mageau has come out full-bore to block this proposal, even to the point of adopting the rhetoric of some of his other arch-enemies (e.g. the RI Statewide Coalition).
We're not going to try to match Mageau insult-for-insult. For one thing, he's better at slinging insults than we are and besides, we think Charlestown residents would rather have facts than rhetoric.
So here is the response CDTC Chair Cathy Collette sent to the Town Council as rebuttal to Mageau's e-mail. (Disclosure - I'm married to Cathy).
December 9, 2011
To the members of the Charlestown Town Council
From Catherine O. Collette, chair
Re: Rebuttal to Jim Mageau e-mail on CDTC’s Homestead Tax Credit proposal
I have reproduced the text of Mageau’s e-mail and marked it in red italics. Our rebuttal follows each section and is set out in bold blue.
From: Jimmag...@aol.com [mailto:Jimmag...@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2011 4:32 PM
To: greg.avedis...@charlestownri.org; lisa.dibe...@charlestownri.org;
marge.fr...@charlestownri.org
Cc: tom.ge...@charlestownri.org; dan.slatt...@charlestownri.org;
rep-wa...@rilin.state.ri.us; tfer...@gmail.com
Subject: Homestead Exemption
MAGEAU: Please be advised that I have received several negative telephone calls from taxpayers who thought that I am still associated with the
I don’t know why Mr. Mageau raises this point, since it has nothing whatsoever to do with the merits of our
MAGEAU: It is to simplistic to say that there are other cities and towns in the state who have adopted similar ordinances.
CDTC: But it is true.
MAGEAU:
CDTC: This statement actually supports our position. Permanent
MAGEAU: Furthermore, while these other communities have enacted similar ordinances do we know if any of them have ever been challenged in State or Federal Court because the proposal appears to be very discriminatory.
CDTC: The state
Every state in the Union, except
The
MAGEAU: I am not opposed to a Homestead Tax Exemption for elderly long time residents of the town who are having trouble paying their taxes but the CDTC proposal goes way beyond that and appears to involve the redistribution of wealth.
As for Mr. Mageau’s remark about “redistribution of wealth,” it is no more so than the other tax credit programs already on the books. We know of no instance where any court challenge has been brought against our town’s existing tax credits as discriminatory against those persons who are not eligible to receive them.
MAGEAU: May I recommend that you contact Attorney Sandra Mack, Esq. and ask her if she has any approved plans. She is the lawyer who designed the special tax qualified Other Post Employment Benefits plan that my successors on the town council adopted. During our meetings a plan to provide tax relief for the elderly was discussed and she submitted a proposal to design one for the town but it was rejected on a tie vote of the then town council. Thank you. Jim Mageau
CDTC: The
Our proposal calls for three steps:
(1) Town Council enactment of a resolution to seek state enabling legislation;
(2) The enactment of state enabling legislation and
(3) The hard job of determining exactly how the program will work, including whether to initiate the program at the full authorized level or to phase it in. That third and final step gives the Council the authority and responsibility to put in place a program that provides the greatest good to the greatest number.