SK Shoots For Zero Increase In Tax Rate

Property owners will not see an increase in taxes next year as long as long as revenue sources hold steady, officials announced on Monday night as town staff presented the proposed budget for fiscal year 2012-13.

According to Town Manager Stephen Alfred, the real estate and property tax roll will increase by $7.3 million while the motor vehicle tax roll will increase by $10.1 million in the next year. These increases will net an additional $289,260, or 44 percent more than the current roll’s worth, making up for projected revenue losses in the 2012-13 year, and allowing the property tax rate to remain stagnant at $14.51 per thousand dollars of assessed value.

“This is a conservative estimate at this time,” said Alfred. “The adjustments will have to be made in both looking at the motor vehicle roll as well as the real estate roll. We anticipate that we should be able to see no increase in the real estate rate for the 2012-13 year without a quality talk in some detail on the impact of any changes at the [state] General Assembly level on the motor vehicle tax.”

The state legislature is considering several amendments that could change the way motor vehicle valuations are tallied. Currently, the value of a motor vehicle is catalogued according to its average retail value. If approved, a bill introduced in the 2012 legislative session would change the assessment to the trade-in value. The rate is $18.71 per thousand dollars of assessed value and a change in how valuation is counted could decrease South Kingstown’s motor vehicle tax rolls by up to 20 percent. The first $3,000 of a motor vehicle’s worth is exempt.

A 20 percent loss in the motor vehicle levy would be absorbed by the real estate and property roll, which could amount to an increase of up to 16 cents. Rhode Island state law caps the property tax increase at 4 percent over the prior year. If South Kingstown sought a 4 percent tax rate increase, it would levy an additional $2.6 million and cost taxpayers 61 cents more than the current year.

“We can’t be sure it won’t be changing in the 2012-13 year,” said Alfred. “I’m giving you a worst case scenario if we were to lose 20 percent.”

At Monday’s meeting Alfred and town staff provided a general overview of the town’s operating program. The majority of the funds are remaining at about level funding with the exception of contractual or mandated increases in the case of personnel and benefits costs.

The Library Fund, which supports the town’s three free public libraries, is showing a 26,260 decrease in funding from the current year – a change that is represented in the reduction of two staff positions and associated benefits.

Alfred said the positions would not be replaced because the decrease in program funding was necessary to balance the budget. He did worry, however, that that the town might have to prove to the state that the town was maintaining its due diligence in terms of funding library programs in order to keep more than $196,000 in state and federal grants to the program.

“We can as long as we could document that it is the same level of service, which I think is case here, and the fact that now there is no full time benefits, and that we have come up with a different way to fund retirement that’s scheduled for the current year,” said Alan Lord, finance director.

On Tuesday the town will discuss the budgets for the town’s public safety and leisure programs in the Town Council Chambers, 180 High St., at 6:30 p.m.

at 6:30 p.m. The March 7 meeting was canceled.