By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI.org
News staff
PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island may have a new option for protecting open space. Called the Community Preservation Act (CPA), the legislation (H5633 and S696) would allow cities and towns to tack a fee on property taxes to fund open space, historic preservation and recreation areas.
If the CPA is enacted,
voters must approve the fee by ballot.
CPAs are nothing new.
Massachusetts adopted the concept in 2000. Today, 153 communities in the Bay
State have voted for the concept. Most recently, Fall River approved the CPA in
November 2012. Massachusetts has preserved 17,000 acres of open space through
its CPA.
“From the Massachusetts experience, we can say that when given the chance, many voters will adopt — at modest levels — the idea of creating a fund to take care of the places they love,” said Val Talmage, director of Preserve Rhode Island, during a May 14 hearing of the House Finance Committee.
Fall River approved a
1.5 percent surcharge on home and business property tax bills. To reduce the
burden on low-income earners, the first $100,000 of property value is exempt.
This fee costs the average property owner about $19 a year. Fall River expects
to collect $762,000 annually, plus a $250,000 match from the state.
The Rhode Island CPA
model would allow municipalities to add between 0.5 percent and 3 percent to
their property tax bills. The addition wouldn't count against the annual cap on
property tax increases.
Municipalities that
vote to adopt this program create a committee to identify the open space,
recreation, and preservation needs and make recommendations for use of the
funds. The city or town council must approve the recommendations. The program
requires that 10 percent of the funds accrued each year be used for land
conservation and parks development and 10 percent are used for historic
preservation. The committee determines how the remaining 80 percent are
spent.
In recent years, Gov.
Lincoln Chafee and the House Finance Committee have urged open space and
historic preservation advocates to seek alternatives to bond referendums.
Although popular, the bonds are seen as a burden on the state's balance sheet.
A CPA shifts the costs
to cities and towns and gives them direct control of the maintenance and
expenses of parks, recreation and protected land, as well as libraries,
museums, carousels and lighthouses. A state match of up to 100 percent of the
local collection would be funded through a $20 surcharge on registry recording
fees on deeds and other documents.
“Many skeptics say
that raising property taxes in this way won't work in Rhode island and I can
assure you that we heard the same comment in Massachusetts," Talmage said.
"But it turns out that in many cities and towns voters actually will tax
themselves modestly if they have some sense that the resources are put toward
issues they think are important.”
The House bill is
sponsored by Rep. Deborah Ruggiero, D-Jamestown. The Senate bill is sponsored
by Sen. Louis DiPalma, D-Middletown.
The legislation is
supported by the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns and the Rhode Island
Land Trust Council, which represents 45 land trusts in the state.
In 1986, Little
Compton and Block Island were granted approval by the General Assembly to
charge a 3 percent fee on real-estate purchases and transfers to fund open
space. The real-estate transfer tax, as it’s known, has been strongly opposed
by the real-estate industry ever since.
Both bills have been
held for further revision and consideration.