Proposed Pawtucket budget sees tax levy rise
Rates to drop following revaluation; ‘lean’ budget factors in drop in ARPA revenue
PAWTUCKET – City officials unveiled Mayor Donald Grebien’s proposed FY25 budget on Monday afternoon and, turns out, they have good news for residents: residential property taxes will drop from $16.94 per $1,000 to $12.47, while the commercial rate will decrease from $29.65 to $21.82 per $1,000.
“The tax rate is going down because all of the properties in the city were reevaluated as we were required to do by state law last year,” said Chief of Staff Ryan Holt.
Holt, Director of Administration Tracey Giron and Finance Director Mark Stankiewicz also pointed out that overall proposed FY25 budget is $91,572 less than it was a year ago, as Grebien trimmed it from $151,400,083 to $151,308,511; that’s a reduction in budget by six thousandths of a percentage point.
As for the tax levy, or the See CARLO, page B6 amount the city brings in from residential, commercial and tangible taxes, Grebien estimates a proposed increase of about $4.2 million, or 3.94 percent. The proposed levy this new fiscal year jumps from about $110.7 million from $106.5 million a year ago.
“One of the overriding themes of the mayor’s budget is we want to remain efficient, prudent and maintain the level of services provided,” Holt said. “It’s very disciplined this year, like it’s always been. This year was challenging because we had to account for two major decreases in revenue. The first is $1.75 million in ARPA funds and the other is $1.55 million in reduced speed camera fees.
“The good news is that people are speeding less, running less red lights, etc.,” he added. “The bad news is less money for the city. We have to account for those losses.”
Stankiewicz explained making up that money can be See BRONCOS, page B2 achieved either by increasing revenue or reducing expenses, “and we’ve done both,” he said.
Giron added that the mayor and administration had to slice significantly from the requests made by department heads, such as additional staffing, office supplies, city vehicles, projects and the like.
They also said there will be
no changes to the tangible tax rate per state law, though the legislation provides a $50,000 exemption to all tangible tax accounts, which began this past fiscal year.
“This isn’t a sexy budget at all; it’s lean and mean,” said Grace Voll, Grebien’s primary spokesperson. “When you look at last year’s budget, we had American Rescue Plan Act money to spend on new and exciting projects, and this year, it’s all about providing essential services while protecting the taxpayers.
“I will also say that this budget seems like we’re really feeling the effects of COVID because of the lack of ARPA funds, but it’s still a smart and sustainable budget.”
At its regularly-scheduled meeting tonight, the City Council will vote to send the annual operating budget ordinance to the Finance Committee, and the committee and council will then meet next Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in council chambers to discuss the proposed budget in an initial workshop.
A public hearing on the matter is slated for Wednesday, May 22, at 7 p.m., again in council chambers.
Major initiatives include the completion of the Winters and Baldwin elementary schools construction projects, and preparing for bond issuance of the new unified high school; purchasing 100 Freight St. for the temporary City Hall relocation; maintaining services and investing in parks; investing in youths through sports team sponsorships; renovation of Fire Station 1 in Woodlawn; acquisition of riverfront property (across from Tidewater Stadium) and additional greenspaces; and the purchase of two new fire trucks and four-six police cruisers.
Stankiewicz said the council voted to use $14.8 million in ARPA funds to pay for the site, which would ensure the safety of employees of and visitors to City Hall due to crumbling portions of it. He also said Pawtucket has about $6 million left in ARPA funds, but those must be used only for COVID-related projects or plans. The city has until Dec. 31 to submit plans for that money or lose it.
Giron state a new budget item is the sports team sponsorships, as the mayor thought it would be nice to show teams the city backs them, say, for tournaments or travel, or simply to help with a fundraiser.
Likewise, the first station renovations, estimated at $6.8 million, should be completed by June 1.
Among the major revenue changes: A state aid decrease of $36,947 (due mainly to no mandated revaluation of properties this year); $1.2 million increase in tangible revenues due to increased values; $2.5 million in total real estate tax revenues; $450,000 decrease in bank investments due to lower balances; intersection camera fees down $1.55 million due to installation delays and better traffic compliance; and the budget is down $91,572 from last year.
Stankiewicz also noted that no ARPA funds were budgeted.
As for major expenditure changes from a year ago, those include: A $994,000 increase on interest payments for bond anticipation notes for Department of Public Works “20M BAN,” or road, parks and sewer improvements); $914,601 decrease to department operating expenses; $197,500 decrease in municipal solid waste disposal fees; contractural salary increase of approximately $904,823 (mainly union raises); healthcare costs decrease of $391,009; $163,700 decrease in the use of outside consultants; and $475,000 increase in fire and police overtime.
Holt mentioned that state law requires cities and towns to conduct a revaluation every third year, and that was done last year.
“Rather than a full revaluation which is only required every ninth year, this was a statistical revaluation; it’s simply an analysis of all the residential and commercial properties in Pawtucket,” he said. “That occurred last year, but it’s not until now that the new fair market values are triggered. Residents will likely see that the appraised value of their properties increased significantly since the 2020 revaluation.”
According to the budget, while values have increased heartily, tax rates have also been adjusted to minimize any potential adverse effects on homeowners. Those owners of single-family homes with median values of $313,750 (45 percent increase from 2020) will see a tax increase of $150 for the year.
Holt, Giron and Stankiewicz also said a two-family house owner with a median value of $398,900 should see a $485 tax increase; those in a three-story structure with a median value of $465,250 a $250 bump; and those in a condo with a median value of $225,700 a $409 increase.
Those tax impacts assume the new tax rate of $12.47 per $1,000.
Voll pointed out that there is an appeal process, and that notices with updated values with explanations of that process will be mailed to residents soon in both English and Spanish. Residents will then have three weeks from the date of notice to book an informal hearing that will take place either in person or over the phone. In-person hearings will be conducted at the Pawtucket Public Library.
Results of the hearing will be mailed to the resident following a review. However, residents who still dispute his or her home’s value can reappeal to the tax assessor; he or she should receive a response within 45 days.