E-Mail to TC: RE: OMA

December 16, 2017

VIA EMAIL

Dear North Smithfield Town #Council Members,

At this point in time we believe you are aware the Attorney General has ruled favorably on our Open Meetings Act (#OMA) complaint regarding the Town Council’s July 17th actions which amended the adopted budget of June 29, 2017 by increasing the tax levy.

Although we referenced violations of Town #Charter and state law in our complaint, we understood that the Attorney General would only address violations of the OMA laws in his ruling. We thought it best to pursue the OMA complaint first, rather than immediately filing a court action addressing possible violations of the OMA, Town Charter and state laws. We chose this path in the hopes of resolving the situation in a mutually acceptable manner without the need of costly litigation. The Attorney General’s ruling has given you the opportunity to resolve the issue without litigation.

We strongly encourage the Town Council to act in the best interests of North Smithfield taxpayers in remedying the situation. We suggest that you correct the July 17th actions by acknowledging the votes taken were unlawful, as noted by the Attorney General, and based on that point, declare them to be null and void. Finally, we call upon you to adjust the tax levy to reflect the budget adopted on June 29, 2017 and send out reduced 4th quarter bills. Taxpayers who paid their bills in full could simply be given a credit against next year’s bill or request a refund. This year, #Woonsocket sent out tax bills with incorrect motor vehicle #tax rates. They corrected the situation by sending out new tax bills with the lower and correct rate.

Former NS Town Councilman Dan #Halloran had reached out to us when he learned of our OMA complaint. He shared our belief that the increase should not have been approved, the money was not truly needed and agreed that the agenda item was faulty. We discussed the remedy described above and Councilman Halloran pledged to make the required motions if and when the Attorney General determined the vote was unlawful. Unfortunately he is no longer a sitting council member, but hopefully current members will act to unburden the taxpayers of this wholly unnecessary tax.

We would be happy to discuss the above and answer any questions you might have if you are interested in engaging in further dialogue.

Thank you,

Mike Clifford and Mike Rapko

*** A copy of this email was shared with Mr. Halloran yesterday for his review and confirmation that we accurately portrayed his statements and positions.

#taxes #towncouncil #oma #openmeetings #omaviolation #ag #attorneygeneral #litigation #refund