Tiverton! Are You Ready For Unfettered Property Taxes?

"The town shall annually appropriate a sum sufficient to pay the principal and interest coming due within the year on bonds and notes issued hereunder to the extent that monies therefore are not otherwise provided. If such sum is not appropriated, it shall nevertheless be added to the annual tax levy. In order to provide such sum in each year and notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, all taxable property in the town shall be subject to ad valorem taxation by the town without limitation as to the rate or amount."  ~H6089, p.5, lines 7-13.

See the following link for the sponsor of the bill and the full text.

http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText11/HouseText11/H6089.pdf

This is a quote from a piece of legislation that the Rhode Island House of Representatives passed on June 1, 2011, regarding Tiverton. The vote was 61 Yeas, 9  Nays, 5  Not Voting. I argued and voted against it.

The bill at hand is one that would allow Tiverton to attempt to sell a $7 million bond for the proposed library contruction. Remember the bill states, "ALL taxable property." Homes, vacant land, businesses, automobiles and other property are now prime targets. 

I don't dispute that we may need a new library, but the economic situation as it is, does not warrant attempting to borrow $7 million. Not now. Not with current fiscal health of Tiverton, or lack thereof. Not with Standard & Poor and Moody considering a downgrade of the U.S. Bond rating. Not with Moody's recent downgrade of Rhode Island's rating from 'Stable' to 'Negative.' Not when the Tiverton Library website claims under "Costs" that $2.5 to $3 million is chargable to the Town of Tiverton. (READ: "taxpayers") Yet the bond request is for $7 million. Something does not compute. Not now.

I DO commend the supporters of a new library and their tenatious work. Just not right now. Case in point; the letter that was sent jointly from the House and Senate Finance Committee chairmen on May 12 to the Board of Regents, asking that the board not act on any school construction of renovation projects until further direction from the General Assembly is received. (See attached .pdf) The fiscal dilemma bestowed upon us by one-party rule, for nearly three-quarters of a century,  has your house, your automobiles and your businesses on the auction block. For a library.

Choose wisely when you vote at the referendum for town approval on this bond, Tiverton. I respectfully sugguest, not right now. Not with,

"...all taxable property in the town shall be subject to ad valorem taxation by the town without limitation as to the rate or amount."