The CRU has been cleaning up the CCA's mess – and it’s working
By Will Collette
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| This is how the CCA managed Charlestown's money |
There was the “$3 million Oopsie,” the misallocation of almost 10% of the town’s budget that went unnoticed for almost 2 years. There was the 2022 RI Public Expenditure Council report that showed Charlestown’s administrative costs were the highest in Rhode Island.
While the CCA now claims that none of this happened, that’s classic CCA b.s. Plus, says CCA resident genius and Town Council candidate Bonnita Van Slyke, why hasn’t the new majority from Charlestown Residents United (CRU) fixed these problems that the CCA claims never existed.
Well, according to a new report
from the Rhode Island Auditor General David Bergantino, the CRU has
indeed brought about a major turnaround in Charlestown’s finances. You can read
his report by CLICKING HERE
with the Charlestown section covering pages 16 and 17.
Look at the numbers
Under the leadership of Deb Carney, Rippy Serra, Steve
Stokes, the late Grace Klinger and her replacement Peter Slom, Charlestown has:
Raised more revenue.
Under
the CCA, revenue was $28 million. Under the CRU, this increased to $30 million.
Lowered expenses.
RIPEC flagged Charlestown’s highest in the state expenses which were $31.2
million, more than the revenue collected. Under the CRU, expenses dropped to
$29.8 million.
Increased the town’s savings.
This is the unassigned fund balance (UFB) that the CCA criticized the CRU for
failing to increase. In fact, according to the Auditor General, the CRU raised
the UFB by 17% from the CCA’s $5.3 million to $6.2 million.
Improved pension funding.
Funding to cover future pension costs rose from the CCA’s $8.3 million level to
$8.8 million under the CRU.
Reduced Charlestown’s debt by a LOT.
Under the CCA, Charlestown’s debt was $7.9 million. Under the
CRU, debt dropped to $6 million, almost 25% less.
Erased the deficit the CCA left behind.
According to the Auditor General, the CCA left behind a DEFICIT of $3,266,029. The CRU erased that deficit and ended FY23 with a SURPLUS of $157,666.
Don't believe me? Here are the numbers from the Auditor General that back up what I just reported:
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| Auditor General's report, page 16. |
The CRU did all this while reducing Charlestown’s tax rate from the $8.17 per thousand the CCA left behind to the current $5.78 under the CRU, 30% less.
In real numbers, the CRU not only cut the tax rate, they reduced the total amount of taxes paid from $23.5 million under the CCA to $20 million under the CRU. That's $3 million dollars less Charlestown taxpayers had to pay. AND the CRU not only wiped out the $3 million CCA deficit but also increased the town's savings by almost a million dollars.
The financial data above from the state Auditor General shows these are facts, not CCA fiction.
How your choice affects your taxes
The CCA has always made a big deal about the tax rate. Considering these numbers, they can’t honestly claim they had some magic formula to keep taxes low (aside from providing almost no municipal services). However, that won’t stop them from making the claim they are the best when it comes to taxes - all facts to the contrary.
The actual tax you pay is based on the rate multiplied by
your property tax assessment. Those property tax assessments have risen sharply
since non-residents found they can buy luxury beach properties here at far
cheaper prices than, for example, the Hamptons. They have been paying far more
than assessed value for Charlestown beach property, in some cases, almost DOUBLE.
Recent examples:
491
East Beach Road near Blue Shutters. Assessed at just under $2 million. Sold
for $3.65 million.
419
West Beach Road. Assessed at $3.95 million. Sold for $7.5 million, the
record so far this year.
59 Ninigret
Ave. Assessed at $2.3 million. Just sold for $4 million.
Data from the Charlestown Tax Assessor database HERE.
These purchases are great for our tax base, making the tax
rate an insignificant factor by contrast. But these purchases drastically
increase the assessments for the rest of us, even though we are unlikely to get
buyers to pay us so much more than assessed value. Not all of us live on the
beach.
The CCA messed up the money
The CCA can use big donations from such non-residents to
print glossy, wordy flyers claiming
they are the best at managing the money, but the hard facts from the RI Auditor
General shows otherwise.
Since ousting the CCA Council majority, along with their
toadies former Town Administrator Mark
Stankiewicz and Budget Commission Chair Dick
Sartor, the CRU has turned around Charlestown’s finances.
And the CRU did it without drama. Without shady land deals. Despite
the chaos the CCA left behind including a merry-go-round of auditors and the
resistance of the CCA to bringing in outside expertise to figure out what went
wrong, the CRU has, according to the Auditor General, has cleaned up most of
the CCA’s mess.
Here is Auditor General David Bergantino's summary analysis:
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| Auditor General report, page 17 |
In addition to keeping Deb Carney, Rippy Serra, Steve Stokes and Peter Slom in office, please also support Craig Marr for Council. We all know his success at running the Breachway Grill. CRU offers Charlestown continued steady stewardship over the town’s money.
