City To Reassess Waterview Apartments

A state law aimed at providing a tax break to low income housing units given an occupancy permit after 1995 was erroneously applied to a Woonsocket property built in the 1970s, resulting in the potential loss of up to hundreds of thousands in city revenue.    

Waterview Apartments, owned by Omni Development Corporation of Providence has reportedly received a tax break since 2005 under Rhode Island General Law 44-5-13.11. The law states that properties that receive an occupancy permit "on or after January 1, 1995," and meet additional low-income housing qualifications will be charged a tax equaling 8% of the previous year's rental income.

For Woonsocket, the discount at the current rate results a loss in tax revenue of around $40,000 a year.  

The error was for increasing the city's tax base pointed out to city officials by members of the Woonsocket Taxpayer Coalition. The tax assessor's office has since taken steps to rectify the error. 

"We did some research into some previous applications," explained City Assessor Christopher Celeste. The application for the tax credit was filed in April of 2005 and passed by officials at City Hall. "At that time, it qualified," Celeste said, the city's assessor since 2010. The discount has been applied to the Section 8, elderly, and market value housing complex at 300 Privilege St. since that time.

That may change soon, with an assessment of the property now scheduled for Dec. 31, 2011. According to Celeste, a request for documentation proving that Waterview Apartments qualified for the abatement received no response.

Currently, Omni Development Corporation is paying Woonsocket just under $76,000 in taxes on the property but may owe back-taxes for the past six years. Although the official assessment is needed to calculate an exact figure, with Waterview's current assessment of $3,201,000 and a commercial rate in the city of $36.14/$1,000, that adds up to $115,684 a year, or a difference of $39,684. 

City Council hopeful James Cournoyer addressed the council at the Sept. 6 meeting and discussed the discrepancy with Mayor Leo Fontaine. 

"With respect to the assessor's division, I see we're making progress," said Cournoyer. "Do we intend to go back on Omni for the past six years past due?" 

"Yes," replied Fontaine. "We've indicated to them that we need to go back for all of the years."

Cournoyer believes that while the funding may be relatively small in the grand scheme of Woonsocket's finances, with taxes increasing in the city on a yearly basis, every little bit helps.

"I don't want anyone to pay a dime more than they have to," he said of his work on the matter. "That's why."