Town Council Takes Another Look at 1990 Tax Exemption for Farm Land

A "house keeping" error from more than 20 years ago received a lot of attention at Monday's Town Council meeting.

According to Town Solicitor Donato Andre D'Andrea, there is a paragraph erroneously listed in a town ordinance. The ordinance, 90-10-23 Exemption on Farm Land, includes a fifth paragraph that should not be listed, according to the town solicitor.

In 1990, when the ordinance was first entered into the town's bylaws, the Town Council at the time voted to delete this last paragraph, D'Andrea said. However, a town employee incorrectly wrote the ordinance including this last paragraph, which reads:

After the fifth (5th) year, the cyclical payback will start over. (i.e. 6th year 100 percent, 7th year 75 percent, 8th year 50 percent, and so on with a five (5) year cycle).

"On Oct. 23, 1990, a motion was made to eliminate the payback in the fifth year," D'Andrea said. "Unfortunately, the cyclical payback provision had not been removed in the town clerk's records."

The town solicitor called the matter a "house keeping error." "It doesn't change the law," he said.

The ordinance provides owners of real estate property classified as farm land to recieve a 25 percent tax exemption. Any applicant who applies for and receives an exemption is required to enter into an agreement, in which a five year cyclical payback provision is necessary in the event the property ceases to be used as farmland.

"If I understand correctly, after farming for 10 years and selling the property to a developer, they can sell and not owe the town anything," asked Councilor James Seveney.

The town's tax assessor responded to the question by saying he was not aware of the issue until recently.

About 110 to 115 parcels qualify for the program in town, according to the tax assessor. To qualify for the program, a farmer must prove that 51 percent of their income comes from farming.

The town council voted unanimously to discuss the ordinance again at a meeting to be held the first week of December. The council also asked the tax assessor to provide a list of all property owners who benefit from the program.

"I want to make sure this is on the up and up," Canario said.

"Well, you're going to have to be prepared to answer the question, 'What is farming,'" said Councilor Jeffrey Plumb.

Until the December meeting, the town solicitor said they would continue to follow the ordinance as recorded in the meeting's minutes from 1990.