LETTER: Seniors Deserve Apology Plus Elderly Tax Exemption

To the editor:

I think the mayor owes the elderly homeowners of Woonsocket an apology. And the elderly homeowners should demand that the mayor provide for them to get the tax exemption to which they are entitled.

In March 2013, the Woonsocket City Council approved an amendment to the Code of Ordinances; Ch. 2, Sec. 11 through ordinance (13 O 08). The amendment increases the income eligibility level from $14,000 to $30,000 and exemption amount from $2,000 of assessed value to $12,000. At the levels approved in 2013, a qualifying elderly homeowner would receive a credit of $441.48 on their upcoming 2015 tax bill based on the mayor’s proposed tax rates.

Now, Mayor Baldelli-Hunt has issued a press release announcing that she intends to change the income limit to $20,000 and tax credit to $200, both amounts less than the amount already approved unanimously by the city council in 2013. It seems the mayor, tax assessor, and city solicitor are not even aware of the ordinance passed in 2013, relying on the information on the application form instead of performing due diligence by checking the actual law!

The fact is that this mayor was not paying attention when the city was struggling in 2013 or she would have known about this change. Between the budget commission’s expressed determination to eliminate the homestead exemption and the necessity of the supplemental tax, I introduced the amendment to the elderly exemption that would protect our seniors from the extreme increases in their tax bills. The city council unanimously supported the legislation. The budget commission took no action pending a legal opinion. The budget commission attorney suggested we submit legislation to specifically grant the authority.

When the legislation was submitted for the supplemental tax bill, it was Rep. Baldelli-Hunt who removed the section to allow the city council to adjust the exemption amounts. By doing so, she deprived needy elderly taxpayers from the benefit of the 2013 exemption ordinance co-sponsored by City Council members Gendron, Beauchamp, and Moreau and unanimously approved.

Now I have determined that the city council already had the authority to make periodic changes to the elderly tax exemption program. It was approved by the Woonsocket voters and the General Assembly back in 1990 and it was the responsibility of the new mayor to implement the change in 2014! Struggling senior homeowners on fixed or limited incomes were deprived of a $431 tax break last year because the administration failed to do its job. And where was the city solicitor while the mayor was drafting this press release? Has he never read our city charter or code of ordinances?

The question now is: How will the mayor be sure to get the elderly the tax exemption in 2015 that they legally entitled to, granted by the city council in 2013? There are many eligible seniors that will not have known that they qualify and they deserve to be given their due credit.

John Ward

Woonsocket, RI