A Modest Proposal to Address Our Shrinking Tax Base

As Tom and I have noted in prior postings, Charlestown's tax base just shrunk by $395.6 million dollars or just under 15%. Using our current tax rate of $7.48 per $1000, we just lost $3 million in tax revenue. This is not unexpected, since the national housing industry melt-down has cut into homeowner equity just about everywhere. Most places have lost a lot more than 15% so by that measure, we should count ourselves lucky.

But we're still $3 million short and the question is how will we make that up? We already run a very lean town government and provide very few municipal services, so cuts are not the answer. We could raise the tax rate, which is what most normal communities do, but that would upset the RI Statewide Coalition and the many RISC members within the Charlestown Citizens Alliance leadership.

So what do we do? I have a Modest Proposal, an update of Jonathan Swift's scholarship. We should banish families with school age children.

Property values fall - what does this mean for our taxes?

Adding to Tom’s comments posted last night, everyone in Charlestown has or will be getting the new assessed value of their property. Most likely the assessed value of your house dropped.

According to town Tax Assessor Ken Swain’s data, the highest and lowest valued properties in town dropped by 19-22% while most mid-value properties (from $200,000 to a million) fell between 13 and 15%.

Properties that lost value outnumbered gainers by 10 to 1. Click here to look yourself up and see your 2009 value versus your new number.

New Property Valuations Are Available

Unless I missed an announcement somewhere, this is news. The town website says that your new property tax valuation was put in the mail on March 18.

Charlestown, following state law, has our homes and land re-appraised every three years. The last one reflected values at the end of 2007 and this one gives values at the end of 2010. You will be getting a statement in the mail but you can look up your new valuation online. The listing conveniently shows your new valuation compared to the previous one.

Charlestown Class War Comments

Since the start of the series on Class War in Charlestown, we've drawn quite a few comments. Most were thoughtful and interesting; a few not so much - ugly stuff like the kind posted by "Blog Warriors" (paid right-wing commenters who flood progressive blogs with nasty remarks).

I decided to write the series after January 16th remarks by the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) Florida-based president Kallie Jurgens. In a letter to the Westerly Sun, Jurgens warned Deb Carney of the Democratic Town Committee not to start a "class war." But the class war has already begun, and Kallie played a large role in starting it as a long-time leader of the RI Statewide (nee Shoreline) Coalition.

Charlestown's class war is a struggle of North vs South (of Route 1), of rich vs. poor, of whites vs. Narragansetts, a struggle to keep outsiders outside, a fight against technology and above all else, a struggle for control.

Class war in Charlestown is often fought through symbols - brick, asphalt, school-age children, cat-loving senior citizens, the evils of wind energy - and through conspiracies, real or imagined. 

New Restaurant Coming Soon!

Update: In a comment, Josh tells us that The Breachway Grill opened on Friday, May 6. Thanks Josh!


I don’t envy people in the restaurant business in Charlestown. The tourist season is all too short for someone thinking about paying rent the year-round. My entire staff and I visit restaurants a lot during the winter and you can often see us at The Cove on Monday nights for the burger and chicken sandwich special. We feel that the restaurants staying open in the winter are doing us a service and we need to try to help them out.

To get back to the subject of this article, a couple of energetic guys are refurbishing the former site of Flip Flops on the corner of Charlestown Beach Road and Matunuck Schoolhouse Road. This location should be great with its proximity to the summer homes near the beach but the recent attempts at a restaurant didn’t survive too long. Perhaps the building needs some feng shui but Flip Flops suffered from a late opening last season.

It will be called The Breachway Grill and should be open by mid-April. Craig Marr and executive chef Andrew Blumin are determined to have the menu fine-tuned and all of the service kinks worked out before the summer season gets rolling.

Bonfire on Amos Green Farm

This is the third year in a row that Carla and Russ Ricci, along with the Charlestown Land Trust, hosted a spring bonfire on the 1750 homestead of Amos Green on Carolina Back Road near the Carter Preserve.

One of a very few pieces of property in Charlestown that has been maintained continuously as cleared land with stone fences, the farm is truly a treasure for our town. It’s a testimony to the work of the Charlestown Land Trust and the generosity of land owners dedicated to conservation.

Class War: Short Takes

Many important stories never make it into the local newspaper or TV News. Not even Fox. So as a public service, here are links to some great pieces you may have missed.

Tom and I have been posting stories on Charlestown’s Class War – the war largely fronted by the Charlestown Citizens Alliance and the RI Statewide Coalition – to block affordable housing, renewable energy and anything the Narragansett Tribe wants to do. Since then, we’ve gotten a number of anonymous posts from people who use charged rhetoric and often bring in issues that have nothing with what we posted. Well, Tom may have found their origin. There’s a company that actually hires “Blog Warriors” to flood progressive blogs with comments in the attempt to drown out the bloggers message. I don’t know how much Professional Blog Warriors make, but hey, times are tough. So who says Republicans aren’t interested in creating jobs?huge loophole in RI’s corporate tax that permits large, multi-state corporations to hide their profits from state tax.

Cheeky Charlestown Chatter

The joint Town Council and Planning Commission meeting last Wednesday gave us lots of material and I wrote an article summarizing the travails of Mr. Veazey at the hands of the Planning Commission.

With inspiration from my ever-helpful research staff I followed that up with an article containing the surprising, at least to me, information that camps are not all zoned the same. So while there is great angst and gnashing of teeth about permitting residential zoning for the 27-acre YMCA camp there are over 100 acres in two other camps already zoned Residential and not designated as Protected Open Space in the Comprehensive Plan.

Your faithful writer listened to much of the recording of the hearing again to give you some additional food for thought.

Conflicting Camp Confusion

After attending the joint Town Council and Planning Commission meeting reviewing the requested comprehensive plan change for the old YMCA camp, my loyal, tolerant and generally fantastic staff researcher came to me and asked “Do you know that camps don't all have the same comprehensive plan classification and zoning?”

I replied with distain – “Didn’t you watch the recording of the town hall session? We learned that the Comprehensive Plan is a sacred document and perfect in every way! We also learned that any change to this sacred document must be considered extremely carefully and only made after studying the positions of the planets and examining the entrails of ritually-killed feral cats! From listening to the councilors and planning commission members we now know that a change is very serious business, akin to getting sex-change surgery! Surely a document such as this can have no errors and must treat every similar property in the same way!”

Idealism and Reality in Charlestown

The man lives on Watchaug Pond and loves it dearly. His house is next to a fully developed campground with 15 buildings including a year-round caretaker cottage, 4 septic systems, and several wells. The campground hasn’t been used for a few years and it gets listed for sale.

The Open Space

He hears that conservation groups are not interested in purchasing it because it is so developed and he’s concerned that a new owner could make it a very busy campground putting a big load on resources and the lake, and lots of traffic. That would require no significant approvals because it is already a developed campground in “recreational open space” zoning.

Or a new owner could try to get approval for the type of dense cottage development to the south of this property.

He would prefer it be used for low density housing and is thinking about 10 homes on 27 acres and a conservation buffer along the pond. So he contracts to purchase the property even though he has no development experience. Then he comes face-to-face with reality.

Class War in Charlestown, Part Three: Closing the Borders

As Charlestown and shoreline RI became prime places to live, those who have their places in paradise want to close the door behind them. Or as Planning Commissar Ruth Platner puts it, “preserve Charlestown’s rural character.”

Exclusionary zoning is an effective way to “preserve Charlestown’s rural character.” Set minimum house lot sizes, micro-manage what types of structures can be built and severely limit the number of building permits issued each year. Peg residential permits to classroom size in the Chariho school system. Block rental property building permits by any means necessary.

Result: Charlestown is 96% white, household incomes exceed the state average by 24% and we have 60% less poverty.

Platner and her six CCA-chosen colleagues on the Planning Commission are the defenders of the gate, determined to make sure Charlestown stays white and wealthy.

In addition to existing ordinances, Platner has created her own criteria to ensure that no new affordable housing will be built in town. She doesn’t want any families with kids – those kids will go to school and cost the town more in Chariho fees.

She doesn’t want renters because they don’t pay property taxes. She doesn’t want senior citizen (+55) housing because older people are more likely to own cats. Cats might run free and if they do, they might eat the birds. Her Planning Commission colleague Linda Fabre wants to give low-income residents vouchers to move to Westerly. In short, if you don’t meet Ms. Platner’s means test for worthiness, get out and stay out.
* White (definitely NOT Narragansett)
* Past child-bearing years or certified sterile
* Not so old that you are a compulsive cat lover
* Able to buy your own home at market rates
* Allergic to asphalt, vinyl and all other man-made building materials. And wind turbines.
* Out-of-state second home buyers, especially from Florida, are welcome! As long as they don’t have cats.
* And finally, no cats.

If Charlestown was in Mississippi, circa 1965, there would be a platoon of US Justice Department civil rights lawyers crawling all over town. Or maybe the ASPCA.

Charlestown is a very liberal - even progressive - town

For the past several election cycles, Charlestown voters generally voted for the most liberal or progressive candidates.

In 2010, Charlestown Democrats supported Patrick Lynch over Frank Caprio for Governor and the late Joe Fernandez over Peter Kilmartin for Attorney General.

In the general election, when Republican John Robitaille swept most of South County, Charlestown went comfortably for Chafee. Charlestown has overwhelming voted for Donna Walsh for state rep over Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA)-backed Matt McHugh in 2008 and the Moderate Party candidate in 2010.

Charlestown’s 16 point margin for Democrat Larry Valencia helped him eke out a razor-thin victory in House District 39. Of course, in 2008, Charlestown went overwhelming for President Obama.

Updates and short takes

Injun Joe Larisa seems to have accomplished his mission of sabotaging the Narragansetts' pitch to buy Twin River for their long-sought casino. Instead of helping the Narragansetts achieve their dream - which could end the fears of many Charlestown residents of a casino in Charlestown - the town's special counsel for Indian issues jumped the Narragansetts' plan like a snarling dog. Within hours, Gov Chafee was spouting Larisa talking points. Based on news reports, Chief Sachem Thomas's meeting today with Chafee did not go well. Though Chafee didn't pull a Carcieri on Chief Thomas, Chafee's non-committal remarks had all the sincerity of those recorded messages that say "Your call is very important to us...." So no fireworks over Ninigret Park to celebrate the end of one major front in Charlestown's on-going class war yet. Thanks to Joe Larisa, the war grinds on.

The state Ethics Commission has told the Town Council that it will not issue an advisory opinion on whether it is ethical for Counselor Lisa DiBello to participate in town personnel matters. Both factions in the council (the CCA faction and the 2008 incumbent faction) had wanted the Ethics Commission to resolve this issue for them. But nuh-uh, the Council will have to deal with it themselves. This puts Slattery and Gentz in an interesting position, since they need Lisa's vote to maintain control of the Council. Turns out Jim Mageau was right that the TC can't ask for an advisory opinion on Lisa's behalf (color me shocked!). Instead, it will take an actual event - i.e. a DiBello action that sparks a live ethics complaint - to resolve this issue. In today's Sun story, DiBello says she will recuse herself from any such conflicts. I still think we're at the point where Lisa must decide whether she is a town council member or a litigant against the town.

Charlestown - A Future Child-Free Zone

Ah, small-town America. A wonderful place to raise a family. Wonderful recreational opportunities. Small schools where your children can learn in a nurturing environment. Neighbors who are true friends. It’s a beautiful place.

Too bad that’s not the Charlestown our leaders want. The non-residents who run our town, behind the scenes and on the Town Council and Family Planning Commission, are actively working to prohibit the types of residences most suitable for young families. They don’t want those Breeders and their evil Spawn in this town!

Class War in Charlestown, Part Two: the Jihad against the Narragansetts

Today's headline in the Providence Journal "Tribe eyes possibility of buying Twin River" ought to be seen as an opportunity to end the many long years of bitter conflict between the Narragansetts and the white residents of Charlestown.

If the conflict is truly about opposition to a casino in Charlestown, and not general hostility toward the tribe, we should not only celebrate but support the tribe's interest in buying the failing Twin River slot parlor and turning it into a competitive casino.