Do not let the crowd that messed up, lied and then covered up get back into office
By Will Collette
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| The CCA's 2024 campaign slogan |
But for starters, let’s talk about the biggie: Can you trust
the CCA to manage your money?
In 2020, the CCA proved it can’t be trusted with taxpayer funds. The lead evidence was the “$3 million Oopsie.” This was a grave problem that the CCA called a “misallocation.”
$3 million in town funds went walkabout, unnoticed by the CCA financial brain trust
of ex-Town Administrator Mark Stankiewicz and ex-Budget Commission chair Richard
Sartor for almost two years. The error was finally spotted by the town’s
ex-auditor and duly reported.
This sparked panic within the CCA as they first tried to find a word other than “lost” to describe the screw-up. They settled on "misallocation." Their word, not mine.
Next, they searched for someone to blame since as we all know, the CCA is always right. They ended up scapegoating the auditors who found the problem.
Then they tried to distract and minimize the problem using laughable analogies. Ruth Platner compared it to parking your car in the wrong place. Bonnie Van Slyke came up with some story about a ladder that I've never quite understood.
Finally they fell back on that old “Hey, how about that low tax rate?” tripe.
During all these machinations, they had their pet Town
Administrator Stankiewicz
use every trick in the book to avoid disclosing town financial records that
would have brought some disinfecting sunshine to this issue. The CCA also
blocked even a public discussion of the need for an outside financial review
and instead let Sartor and Stanky review themselves.
Two years later, the CCA and especially their mouthpiece Council candidate Bonnita Van Slyke are now denying there was ever any problem, claiming their political opponents made it up. I wish I was that clever.
Van Slyke personally attacked me for even raising the issue, saying my reporting hurts the
reputation of such a stellar personality as Stankiewicz.
The $3 million oopsie was and is a flashpoint in 10 years of
CCA financial shenanigans. Before the “oopsie” went public, the worst abuses
were questionable land deals promoted by Planning Commissar Ruth Platner who is
now running for Council. Ruth never met a piece of undeveloped land she didn’t
want to buy, regardless of price, using your money of course.
Time and again, she pushed deals where owners (often CCA
affiliates like the Sachem Passage Association) would be paid
far more than the land’s assessed values, often based on appraisals
that relied on fictitious conditions. Stankiewicz
helped by clamping down on the release of public records on these corrupt
deals.
“But the tax rate!”
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| The CCA ran Charlestown from 2011 to 2023. Source: Charlestown Tax Assessor |
First, a few facts: under the CCA, the tax rate went up pretty consistently as the table to the right shows.
After the voters gave the CCA the boot in 2020, the tax
rate has plummeted to its lowest level in decades, going from $8.17 when the
CCA was booted to the current $5.78.
But the tax rate is only half the equation. What you actually pay in taxes is the tax rate multiplied by your property assessment.
Assessments
have skyrocketed due to shorefront purchases by rich New York and
Connecticut folks who discovered Charlestown is way cheaper than the Hamptons.
Their multi-million-dollar purchases drove up property assessments generally to the point where Charlestown has become even more unaffordable and we all pay taxes based on property values that we are unlikely to ever appreciate when we eventually sell our homes.
The most recent reassessment increased the taxable value of our home by 65% to a level I can't imagine in my wildest dreams ever getting should we sell. Unless you’ve got a
shoreline property, your assessment probably does not reflect market reality.
Even Van Slyke found that out when she tried to sell her
waterfront Arnolda estate for $3 million but ended up having to settle for $2
million.
An economy out of
balance
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| This East Beach Road property was assessed at $1,967,700 and just sold for $3.65 million. |
Actions have consequences. The CCA’s decade of reliance on rich people buying beach property and tourists flocking in during the summer has skewed our economy.
While those beachfront owners pay a large portion of
town taxes, they plus tourists triple the town’s population during
the summer.
We have to provide – and pay for – a town infrastructure needed to accommodate them. Other seaside towns have the same problem and have chosen to resolve this tax inequity through homestead tax credits.
These credits cut the property taxes of permanent residents to
offset the cost imposed by visitors and temporary residents. While Homestead credits are
working well in Narragansett, South Kingstown, Newport and North Kingstown, the
CCA adamantly opposed a Democratic proposal for a Charlestown Homestead Tax Credit.
The CCA also turned a blind eye to tax rip-offs by
Charlestown’s two “fake” fire districts – Shady Harbor and Central Quonnie.
Between them, these homeowner
associations (HOAs) in disguise own hundreds of millions of dollars in prime
beach property and pay little or no property taxes.
We are long past the time to strip the fire district
designation from these associations that do not provide actual fire protection.
It’s insulting to real fire fighters and a tax rip-off. While state legislation
may be needed to completely resolve this embarrassment, Charlestown should
immediately begin taxing their properties at real value.
They’ll sue of course. As The Public’s Radio South County
Bureau Chief Alex
Nunes has chronicled, fake fire districts from Bonnet Shores to Watch Hill
file lawsuits anytime anybody challenges them on any issue. I believe this is a
battle worth fighting and one I believe we can win.
We could easily fund a Homestead Tax Credit by making the
fake fire districts pay their fair share of taxes.
We could also fund a special tax credit for fire fighters
who nol only deserve our praise and thanks, but might also help alleviate the
shortage of volunteers. Rep.
Teresa Tanzi (D) got the General Assembly to pass legislation authorizing a
fire fighter tax credit in South Kingstown.
Some other problems in the Charlestown economy
The real tax question is tax fairness, not the tax rate. Affluent Charlestown property owners can use fake fire districts and loopholes in conservation law to cut their taxes while the CCA blocks tax credits for working families.
Charlestown needs to diversify its economy and not simply rely on minimum and sub-minimum wage jobs servicing tourists and part-time residents. The people needed to provide those services can’t afford to live in Charlestown. The CCA has made it even harder by making Charlestown the only mainland Rhode Island town without RIPTA service.
Contrary to CCA claims, Charlestown
does not need an overly large budget surplus. Paying cash for capital
investments, including the CCA’s shady land deals, just jacks up taxes.
For years, the CCA has known about mis-zoning – properties
undeservedly designated for uses that lower taxes. Planning Commissar Ruth
Platner promised to fix this problem in 2012. Twelve years later and she
hasn’t done it. Yet she wants you to elect her to the Town Council.
Choose wisely in November. The CCA candidates are no longer simply listed as "independents" (as if they ever were). Most CCA candidates are co-mingled with the CRU slate as either Democrats or Republicans although none of them carry town party endorsements.
Watch your mailboxes for campaign flyers. If you want to prevent a return financial mismanagement, DON'T vote for the CCA candidates and instead cast your votes for the CRU slate.
