Is charity the answer to
our community problems?
By Will Collette
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| Screen shot from GoLocalProv report |
When the CCA Party majority on the Charlestown Town Council killed a
Democratic proposal for a Homestead Tax Credit of $1000 off the property taxes
of full-time residents, one of the “practical” arguments given by CCA Party
Councilor Dan Slattery and Council Boss Tom Gentz was that giving middle-class
permanent residents a tax break would cause resentment among the town’s nonresident
owners of multimillion-dollar beach properties.
That resentment would lead to these residents cutting back on hiring
locals to take care of their vacation homes (presumably they would mow their
own lawns, clean their own houses and check on them during the off-season) and
curtail their charitable giving.
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| Council Boss Gentz fears blackmail by non-residents, or is he just pandering to the people who provide 60% of the CCA Party's funding? |
At the December 12, 2011 Council meeting, Town Council Boss Tom Gentz
(CCA Party) said he was voting against the tax credit out of concern that it
would cause non-residents to curtail giving their money to “Salt Pond Coalition,
Charlestown Land Trust, Cross Mills Library, Charlestown Ambulance Service,
Charlestown Chamber of Commerce with their summer events, and businesses like
Charlestown marinas, liquor stores, landscapers, and restaurants.”
Mike Chambers, Maureen Areglado, Ron Areglado and Planning Commissar
Ruth Platner expressed similar sentiments.
Well, Charlestown
unemployment hasn’t benefited much from the largess of our out-of-state
landed gentry, sitting at 9.9%, which is truly appalling and is much higher
than Rhode Island’s worst-in-the-nation unemployment rate of 9.1%. So much for
the promised jobs.
As for charity, a new study puts
Charlestown’s 02813 zip code area near the bottom among 72 Rhode Island
Communities. Charlestown ranked 53rd among the 72 communities.
The study did the ranking based on what percentage of income people
donated to charity. That allows a fair comparison to be made across the state’s
yawning income gap.
The study used 2008 income tax return data, the most recent available, to
tabulate the median charitable donations compared to median discretionary
income. Charlestown gave a total of just under $3 million to charity for a
median donation of $1,492 on a median income of $54,088.
Translated, that means
that Charlestown taxpayers donated 2.76% of their disposable income to charity.
Compare that to the #1 most generous zip code, 02907, which is the west
end of Providence and part of South Providence, where its residents donate
4.97% of their incomes to charity even though their incomes average one-third
less than Charlestown.
Neighboring South Kingstown’s 02881 zip code is the second most generous
in the state, donating an average of 4.94% to charity on an average income that
is 30% higher than Charlestown. South Kingstown Town Council President Ella Whaley said “It is a truly giving
town that I live in…. We are a town rich in resources for people in need.”
Can you imagine Charlestown Town Council
President Boss Tom Gentz saying something like this? Well, actually, I can
because I have seen Gentz make similar claims based on imaginary facts.
Charitable organizations are an important part of the fabric of a
community. They actually help to build the community and the extent to which
they are supported is one important measurement of the character of a
community.
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| IRS-certified Charlestown charities. Donations can be deducted on your income tax filing. |
But charities almost never can match the resources of government in
addressing community problems. CCA Party claims that somehow contributions to
charity and to the local job market from our wealthy summer visitors are so significant
that they trigger, as Boss Gentz put it, a “fiduciary responsibility” to block
tax relief for struggling middle-class homeowners, are contradicted by the
data.
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| Charlestown charities who's tax-exempt status has been revoked |
By all means, we must support charitable institutions, especially those that
serve our neighbors. There are 24 of them in Charlestown currently approved by the
IRS as in good standing and able to accept tax-deductible donations. There are
another six Charlestown nonprofits, including four charities, whose tax-exempt
status has been revoked by the IRS.
But none of these charities can help our neighbors in need as well as the
combined efforts of our federal, state and local government. We’ve seen what happens
when the federal government cuts Food Stamps, fuel assistance and long-term
unemployment benefits, or when the state cuts public worker pensions. Families
in need turn to local charities, which simply can’t handle the load.
I think Charlestown town government has yet to step up and shoulder its
share of the duty to help others – others, that is, who are in a different
income bracket and financial situation than the typical CCA Party supporter. Token
payments to RI-CAN don’t cut it. We’ve heard CCA Party Town Councilors give a
lot of excuses why they can’t help, except all those excuses really mean they won’t
help.
I’ve made seven serious suggestions for specific things Charlestown can
and should do (click
here for details). I know our Town Council and Planning Commission have
been busy dealing with such important issues as mulch, music in Ninigret Park,
bike paths to the beach, the size of Bruce Gouin’s dental practice, and so on,
but at some point, they’re going to need to come forward with ideas that will
help Charlestown’s working families.