Gary Morse
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On the Blog Post Why I Don't Support an Additional Increase to the School Budget
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On the article Budget With 1% Hike, But Amendment for Schools, Goes Before FTM
Gary Morse
6:26 am on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
ReplyMany thanks to the COA for their hard work to keep our town taxes from sending the average resident packing. Barrington already has the highest tax bill in the state when measured on a per capita basis (I don't count the summer communities of Jamestown and Block Island).
It is a shame that the question of a property tax subsidy for Palmer Pointe, to be paid by town residents, was not included in the FTM. There was plenty of time for town officials to have organized this for a vote by residents.
In effect, the town has simply been served with notice that residents "will" be providing subsidies to EBCDC for that project.
The total tax bill for Sweetbriar (another project subsidized by residents) was $35K for all 47 units in FY2012. That amounts to a total annual tax bill per unit of $745.
Palmer Pointe wants the same deal.
Even those living in Walker Farm affordable homes are required to pay about 5 times that amount.
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On the article Budget With 1% Hike, But Amendment for Schools, Goes Before FTM
Gary Morse
6:25 am on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
ReplyMany thanks to the COA for their hard work to keep our town taxes from sending the average resident packing. Barrington already has the highest tax bill in the state when measured on a per capita basis (I don't count the summer communities of Jamestown and Block Island).
It is a shame that the property tax subsidy for Palmer Pointe, to be paid by town residents, was not included in the FTM. There was plenty of time for town officials to have organized this for a vote by residents.
In effect, the town has simply been served with notice that residents "will" be providing subsidies to EBCDC for that project.
The total tax bill for Sweetbriar (another project subsidized by residents) was $35K for all 47 units in FY2012. That amounts to a total annual tax bill per unit of $745.
Palmer Pointe wants the same deal.
Even those living in Walker Farm affordable homes are required to pay about 5 times that amount.
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On the Blog Post Palmer Pointe – What Can Average Barrington Resident Do?
Gary Morse
9:00 am on Saturday, May 18, 2013
ReplyThinking about my above example of the homeowner paying $2970 in annual taxes, let's compare if both households had $28,000 in annual income, and the homeowner was over 65 (Barrington's senior discount).
Under the Affordable Housing guidelines, and assuming the council voted to grant the tax abatement, the Palmer Pointe renter's annual tax bill, paid by EBCDC, would work out to:
$28,000 * 30% * 8% or a $672 annual tax bill.
The homeowner next door paying $2970 would have their tax bill reduced by $500 (town ordinance exemption) and another $500 would be kicked in via the Spencer Trust making the total annual tax bill $1970.
The homeowner still has to pay expenses to keep the roof from falling off, paint the house, rake the leaves, etc. The renter gets to go to the beach on Saturday morning.
Does the Town Council actually think this is a fair and constitutional apportionment of burdens?
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On the Blog Post Palmer Pointe – What Can Average Barrington Resident Do?
Gary Morse
8:59 am on Saturday, May 18, 2013
Thinking about my above example of the homeowner paying $2970 in annual taxes, let's compare if both households had $28,000 in annual income, and the homeowner was over 65 (Barrington's senior discount).
Under the Affordable Housing guidelines, and assuming the council voted to grant the tax abatement, the Palmer Pointe renter's annual tax bill, paid by EBCDC, would work out to:
$28,000 * 30% * 80% * 8% or a $538 annual tax bill.
The homeowner next door paying $2970 would have their tax bill reduced by $500 (town ordinance exemption) and another $500 would be kicked in via the Spencer Trust making the total annual tax bill $1970.
The homeowner still has to pay expenses to keep the roof from falling off, paint the house, rake the leaves, etc. The renter gets to go to the beach on Saturday morning.
Does the Town Council actually think this is a fair and constitutional apportionment of burdens?
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On the Blog Post Palmer Pointe – What Can Average Barrington Resident Do?
Gary Morse
6:37 am on Saturday, May 18, 2013
Thank you Mohamed for the reply.
The irony of this tax deal is that if you look at one of the abutting streets to the Palmer Pointe project, Orchard Ave, the smallest home on Orchard is a 1930's bungalow with 564 sq ft of living space on a 5489 sq ft lot, about the size of a 1 bedroom apartment at Palmer Pointe.
The homeowners annual property tax bill is $2970, and this is not locked into any special long term tax stabilization arrangement.
The tax abatement requested by EBCDC is that a similar newly constructed apartment should only have a maximum annual tax bill of around $1100.
But it could be much lower than $1100 since the tax bill is limited to 8% of what the tenant is actually paying in rent.
If a tenant is only paying $500 per month in rent, then the annual tax bill would only be $480 vs $2970 for the resident on Orchard Ave.
Palmer Point is a $14,000,000 48 unit project where the developer is asking for a total annual tax bill under $50,000.
The assessed value of all 29 modest homes on Orchard is $7,640,300, but the combined tax bill for these 29 homes is $137,525, around 3 times what Palmer Pointe may end up paying
The kicker is that a family could be earning around $60,000 per year and still qualify for a subsidized rental.
Something is very wrong with this, particularly since the property tax deferral program for Barrington seniors was just voted down.
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On the article Sowams Nursery Housing Rapped at First Hearing on Master Plan
Gary Morse
10:33 am on Thursday, May 16, 2013
ReplyRead from the Santa Monica Dispatch - "Why I Hate Affordable Housing".
The Dispatch serves one of the most liberal cities, in the most liberal state, in all of America.
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On the article Sowams Nursery Housing Rapped at First Hearing on Master Plan
Gary Morse
4:06 pm on Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Concerned
Yes, I thought you were posting as a critic of the absurd legal opinion.
If you check back to the July 30, 2012 Town Council meeting, you will hear Ms. Letendre comment about the affordable housing laws in general: "There's a lot of attorney's whose livelihood depends on these fuzzy clauses here".
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On the article Sowams Nursery Housing Rapped at First Hearing on Master Plan
Gary Morse
12:52 pm on Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Concerned,
A project that is not financially viable is not consistent with the Barrington Comprehensive Community Plan.
The Barrington Comprehensive Community Plan is tied to the term of the affordable deed restrictions and the term of the deed restrictions are tied to the viability of the subsidies (the property tax abatements).
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On the article Sowams Nursery Housing Rapped at First Hearing on Master Plan
Gary Morse
8:58 am on Tuesday, May 14, 2013
ReplyPart of EBCDC's bragging rights last night was the EBCDC project called "Kane's Way", in Bristol on Metacom Ave. I hope they weren't trying to demonstrate responsible financial management of that project.
In 2008, Bank of America declared a default of their Kane's Way construction loan
and "exercised its senior rights to claim 100% of any sales proceeds generated by sale of the condominium units". - June 17, 2010 meeting minutes of the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation Board of Commissioners.As a taxpayer, I'm concerned that taxpayers ultimately had to cover a large part of that loss.
Financial pro forma's beyond the construction period are relevant to the Barrington Comprehensive Community Plan for EBCDC's Palmer Pointe rental project. They should be a part of the review by the Barrington Planning Board.
Gary Morse
8:42 am on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Thank you Geoff!
Mr Tarro, the town's school administrator, is responsible for the school departments administration and finance, and is well paid by the town to get these projections within a few thousand dollars.
Has there been a response by the school committee as to how the projections could be wrong by more than 300%?