This week’s Ward Letter discusses the property tax revaluation process, reducing the neighborhood impact of road races and decentralizing our public schools.
On Tuesday, October 8, the City Council’s commission to study revaluation held its first meeting. At that time, the commission reviewed the volatility of tax bills during revaluation years, producing dramatic changes in certain neighborhoods as demonstrated in this Power Point Presentation that described tax changes for sample properties in sample Providence neighborhoods for the revaluations of 2007, 2010 and 2013. The volatility in tax bills during those years resulted from a valuation bubble and crash in some neighborhoods and general issues inherent in the revaluation process. With that in mind, the Commission’s next meeting (which will take place on Tuesday, October 22 at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall, Third Floor) will review standards that other states use for revaluations. Rhode Island has a three-year cycle for statistical revaluations, and a nine-year cycle for full-scale revaluations, with the new values implemented immediately. Other states have longer cycles, and/or phase in the new values over years. The Commission also will review the considerations Rhode Island weighed when establishing the current system.
Last week, I met with the Providence Arts and Tourism Office to discuss ways to reduce the local impact of road races. The problems raised by the recent half-marathon were unique to that event, resulting from its length and the particular course route selected. I learned that the remaining road races for this fall will largely take place in other City neighborhoods, and the ones that enter the East Side will avoid the conflicts that proved to be so difficult in the half-marathon. During this winter, the Office plans to develop a set of standard routes for road races that will be available for race organizers to choose. This will be a change from prior practice, in which race organizers were allowed to form their own route, some of which produced unacceptable local impacts. The Arts and Tourism Office is now aware of the specific issues that road races create for East Side residents, so I am optimistic that the new set of templates will permit future races to be planned and scheduled to balance the interests of participants and residents.
Sincerely,