Taxpayers Group Invites Residents to Join Supplemental Tax Fight

Taxpayers suing to challenge the $2.5 million supplemental tax are inviting residents to sign on to the cause at no cost Tuesday night at the Elks Hall, 380 Social St. as officials report a high collection rate on the bills.

The Woonsocket Taxpayers Legal Defense Fund meeting will provide taxpayers an opportunity to learn about the suit and to consider whether or not they wish to join as plaintiffs. Taxpayers are asked to bring copies of their Supplemental Tax bill in the event that they choose to join. There is no charge to join as a plaintiff.

At issue is whether Woonsocket Budget Commission's union "enactments", which may result in $3.7 million of savings for Woonsocket, allowed the city to begin collecting $2.5 million from taxpayers under enabling legislation requiring those savings before bills to raise the money could be mailed out.

State Sen. Marc Cote [D-Dist. 24], who co-wrote the enabling law, recently argued before the commission that the enactments don’t meet the General Assembly’s requirements. Mayor Leo Fontaine later disagreed, saying the enabling legislation does mention using "enactments". 

In fact, the $3.7 million contingency portion of the bill, H-6103, which Cote voted for, does list municipal enactments among the methods allowed: "Such supplemental tax shall be contingent upon the city of Woonsocket's realization of a total amount of no less than three million seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($3,750,000) in savings resulting from municipal enactment or concessions from collective bargaining agreements with applicable Woonsocket unions and retirees."

But the lawsuit, brought by Roland Michaud, Jim Cournoyer, Shaun Cournoyer, Cote, and Roger Jalette, (posted to MyWoonsocket.com) argues, "The General Assembly did not make the Supplemental Tax contingent on "anticipated" savings or "projected" savings or "budgeted" savings or savings to be realized in the future; rather the General Assembly purposefully and explicitly made the Supplemental Tax contingent on the realization of actual savings."

Meanwhile, the city's finance department reports collection on the tax bills at about $1.7 million - better than the 60 percent expected, according to a report from the Woonsocket Call.