Providence budget raises residential tax rate, freezes commercial rate

ON MONDAY, Providence City Council voted to pass a $663 million budget for the 2014 fiscal year that raises the city's residential tax rate while freezing its commercial tax rate. / COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/ANATOLI LVOV
ON MONDAY, Providence City Council voted to pass a $663 million budget for the 2014 fiscal year that raises the city's residential tax rate while freezing its commercial tax rate. / COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/ANATOLI LVOV

PROVIDENCE – The Providence City Council passed a $663 million budget for the 2014 fiscal year that will raise residential tax rates while freezing the city’s commercial and other tax rates and making new investments in education, public safety and infrastructure, Mayor Angel Taveras’ office announced Monday after the vote.

In a controversial move, nearly all city homeowners will see their residential taxes increase, as the budget raises the owner-occupied rate from $15.95 to $19.25 and sets the non-owner-occupied rate at $33.75.

The move to freeze the commercial tax rate — which, at $36.75, is the nation’s highest among major cities — echoes the primary action item in Taveras’ plan for economic development. It will be accompanied by holds on the tangible and car tax rates.

The budget adds 18 police officer positions for the city whose salaries will be paid with federal funding. In an effort to bolster infrastructure and job growth, it also invests in a broad road repair effort and incorporates an initial debt repayment on a recent $40 million road bond.

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It also increases the Providence schools budget by $8 million and adds two staff positions in the Department of Inspections and Standards to streamline the permit review process for small building projects.

Some of the city’s major savings arose from the $18 million saved by recent pension reform, and new revenue came in the form of $8.2 million from major tax-exempt institutions in Providence.

“This budget makes the investments needed to create jobs and grow our economy,” Taveras said in a prepared statement.

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  1. Well they need to get the money somewhere, can’t attract business with absurdly high commercial taxes so might as well milk the only people keeping the city alive. Makes it an easy choice that I’ll be taking my family out of Providence as soon as possible. The worst part is they keep lowering everyone’s property values so that it’s almost impossible to get rid of the home without being severely underwater. This way they force you to stay in the city or take a huge hit on your home. All this on top of lowering your appraisal and instead of saving money on taxes, they raise them high enough so it costs you even more to live there but yet the home is worse much less. What a joke. At least elsewhere in the state, I’ll get great public schools and programs for my higher taxes, here I pay more and get less every year.