Hundreds Turn Out to Oppose Supplemental Tax

Woonsocket residents are solidly against a proposed supplemental tax bill to ease the city's impending cash crunch, or at least that's the view most expressed at a Monday night hearing before the City Council.

More than 500 gathered for the forum at the auditorium of the Woonsocket Middle School, forcing janitors to set up an overflow room in a gymnasium. Dozens rose to speak. The City Council simply listened, and took no vote. The discussion was "an opportunity for people to vent and express their opinions," according to City Council President John Ward.

Most of those opinions were delivered in loud, angry voices.

"Why doesn't someone stand up and say, I screwed up," demanded resident David Parenteau.

"We can't afford a supplemental tax, and we can't afford bankruptcy either," said resident Linda Fontaine. "The spending has got to stop."

The City Council and Mayor Leo Fontaine have proposed the supplemental tax bill — which some are calling "the fifth quarterly" — to bring in money to pay bills until the city and state officials come up with some way to plug a $10 million projected budget deficit. They've warned the red ink could also push Woonsocket into bankruptcy and receivership in the weeks ahead.

Some who took the floor gave their endorsement to receivership. "This City Council is too wishy-washy," said Alicea Forcier. "If I get a supplemental tax bill this year, how do I know you're not going to come back and say, we need more next next year? People say bringing in a receiver will lower our property values. Well guess what? They're already there. I'd like a receiver to come in and say, This is what you're going to pay, and that's it!"

She punctuated her remarks with an attack on those who use food stamps to purchase groceries. "Someone else isn't paying, so I have to pay more," she said.

A number of speakers preferred to target poor people who rely on social assistance programs. "I just learned something today," said Estelle Bubble. "In Canada, everyone who wants to get their welfare check has to do 25 hours community work a week."

Sharon Knettell criticized those who vote for the candidate who serves "the best meatball dinner" during campaign season. Some political observers in the city claim the big election winner is usually the candidate who's willing to pay for cheap banquets at senior citizen housing.

"We must increase the tax base in our state, not by nickle and diming hairdressers and restaurant owners, but by increasing taxes on the wealthiest people in Rhode Island," Knettell said. "Bankruptcy is not an option. Who would buy a home here? We could end up like Camden, NJ., full of houses boarded up and used as crack dens."

John Reynolds, Jr. approached the mic wearing a red T-shirt with the words "Woonsockets Taxpayer Association." He called for law enforcement authorities to investigate several city officials to determine if they should be held responsible for the deficit. In the end, he pointed to City Councilman Marc Dubois, who's become something of a scapegoat because last year he chaired the School Committee. "You too!" Reynolds yelled.

The crowd whooped and cheered.

"Here are my solutions," he continued. "The tax hike is what, 13 percent? How about a 13 percent pay cut for all city department heads, including the chief executive officer, and a 50 percent pay cut for all members of the City Council and the School Committee. I'm the most dangerous man in Woonsocket — a taxpayer who votes."

Jeanne Budnick, owner of Pepin Lumber, saved her venom for teachers in Woonsocket's public schools. "I'm speaking on behalf of several hundred businesses I have polled about the supplemental tax bill," she said. "We're paying the highest commercial tax rate in the state ... When I look at these papers from the school department, it says our teachers haven't had a raise in five years. But then I look at this list of step increases — these aren't raises, they say — and step increase number five is a pay hike of 6 percent a year."

Robust cheers filled the air, and she continued. "How can we accept this supplemental tax bill if we don't fix the school department?" she asked.

"I might get up meeting after meeting and say the same thing," added resident Susan Pawlina, who frequently speaks before the City Council. "But we need to change. We need to change the way we do business."

Phil Labreque, an unsuccessful candidate for City Council in last year's election, used his few minutes to mock those who beat him. "Do you still feel like you won and I lost?" he asked. "Either we've got the most unlucky administration ever, or the most incompetent."

Charles Souders skipped speaking about the supplemental tax bill, and instead launched an attack on landlords. He proposed limiting rents in Woonsocket to $100 a month. "The landlords are winning and the tenents are losing, big time," Souders said. "The biggest sin of all is taking advantage of someone because you can."

No elected officials took the floor. But in response to a reporter's questions, School Committee Chairwoman Anita McGuire Forcier took a moment to discuss a recent report in the Atlantia Journal Constitution that suggested Woonsocket schools may have fudged some standardized test results.

The Georgia newspaper recently did an analysis of test scores in thousands of school districts across the country, and reported the data suggested there may have been cheating in 196 locations. Woonsocket was on the list.

Anita McGuire Forcier said she has not yet been able to discuss the report with Woonsocket's superintendent, but she noted the newspaper did not follow up to determine if any school district had actually cheated. "It's sad to make an accusation, and then say you're not going to investigate it," she said. "It's an insult to our children."