Tax increase #6 locked in by budget vote

Low controversy yields low turn-out

By Will Collette

Charlestown voters, such few as there were, approved the town’s new budget by a vote of 144 to 55, a more than three to one margin. Less than 200 registered voters, 199 to be exact, turned out to vote. I voted just before 3 PM when the vote count was only 115, so I could tell then that it was going to be a slow day.

While the annual town financial referendum rarely draws big numbers, this turn-out was especially low. Almost three times as many voters (576) turned out in 2011 to vote to support building the new town beach pavilions that the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA Party) had attempted to block.

Despite the incredibly low turn-out this year, the CCA Party couldn’t wait to send out an e-bleat to celebrate its victory that will raise your taxes once again.

This financial town referendum was largely devoid of controversy – except of course for producing the sixth consecutive hike in property taxes. That’s a tax hike for every year since the CCA Party has seized control of Charlestown Town Government in 2008. This new budget will raise both the tax rate and the total amount of taxes collected, forcing the hike.

The new rate will be at least $9.87, maybe even $9.90 per thousand

The town could have avoided the tax hike by ending the CCA Party practice of plowing town revenues into capital costs – such as paying off the long-term, low-interest bond on the Police Station early and paying cash for road projects instead of using low-interest bonds. 

While it’s nice to lower long term debt, it comes at the expense of loading more tax burden on embattled Charlestown working families now when their ability to pay is hampered by the economy and Charlestown's high unemployment (8.7%).

The CCA Party Town Council majority also tamped down voter turn-out by changing their position on two warrant items that were slated to be on the ballot.

One was the god-awful proposal brought forward by Town Administrator Mark Stankiewicz to permit a group of mostly non-resident beach property owners to buy a town-owned beach right of way so they could block it off. The CCA Party majority initially approved this matter as one to put before the voters, but after hearing the outcry from actual residents about this plan at the May budget hearing, the CCA Party boys flipped and the item was removed.

If that item had stayed on the ballot, I believe a lot more voters would have turned out to crush it.

They also removed a proposal from the Budget Commission to allow voters to make a separate decision about whether to spend $260,000 to rebuild four of the eight tennis courts at Ninigret Park. 

Though this matter had some support among users and a reasonable argument given the courts’ poor construction, the CCA Party Councilors again flip-flopped from approving the item to voting to pull it from the ballot.

After those two items were pulled from the ballot, that left voters without a whole lot of incentive, other than civic duty, such as it is, to come out to vote.

That, plus a growing sense of “what’s the use?”, adds to a sense of drift in Charlestown. The CCA Party had a firm grip on all the levers of power and uses it to load up town volunteer positions with its political appointees. These appointees, plus the CCA control of the Council and Planning Commission, mean that CCA Party supporters and campaign contributors get first preference and top priority treatment while CCA Party opponents, at best get ignored and, at worst, get screwed.

Form your own "fire" district - ya
gotta be a member to benefit

In case you’re wondering, I voted “yes” on the budget despite my critique of it. The town doesn’t need constituents to adopt the “budget nihilism” attitude that has been plaguing the Chariho School District. Despite my criticisms about the tax hike and the misplaced priority of paying cash for long-term capital projects instead of offering tax release, the town needs a budget to operate.

Your new property tax bills will hit your mailbox in early July and you’ll get to see how much the CCA Party’s misadventures will cost you.

Please do check out my series on practical ways you might be able to reduce your property tax bill.

Also, if you and your neighbors can pull themselves together, there’s also the newly discovered tax deal where you form your own “fire” district. You don’t even need to fight fires, but you can find some terrific tax benefits, not just on property taxes, but on your state and federal income taxes too. Click here to learn more.