To the editor:

Whenever there’s a story on affordable housing in the Barrington Times, you're sure to find bombastic comments by certain town council members pushing the false narrative that, when it comes to affordable housing, Barrington has no choice.  

In last week’s front page Times article, "Should town give developer a tax break", councilors Michael Carroll and Steve Boyajian argued that the immediate sale of the Sweetbriar development to a for-profit developer in 2008 was a "necessity for EBCDC to receive federal tax credits."   

This is pure nonsense. 

The entire rollout of the 2008 town council vote on local property tax breaks for the Sweetbriar development was contrived by the cheerleaders of affordable housing to turn out as it did, not one of “necessity for federal tax credits”.

The history of Sweetbriar obtaining a Barrington property tax break is riddled with misrepresentations promoted by town officials looking to justify expansion of affordable housing at local taxpayer expense. Consider the simple question: If local tax breaks are mandated by law, why is EBCDC bothering to ask? And, if local tax breaks do require town approval, why is the town council deciding a matter that belongs in the Financial Town Meeting? 

There are skeletons in the town council’s closet on this matter, skeletons certain council members want kept behind closed doors. Consider the following: 

1) In 2008 when EBCDC was pleading for town approval of a local property tax break for EBCDC as a non-profit, simultaneously, the for-profit entity, Sweetbriar Limited Partners, was the real party applying for the mortgage.

2) The town ignored one mandated criteria for final Sweetbriar project approval being a town review of the approved mortgage application. This obviously would have disclosed Sweetbriar Limited Partners as the real owner, not EBCDC. At the same time, RI Housing required that for the mortgage to be approved, the town would have to grant property tax breaks to the entity holding the mortgage. Neither requirement was ever completed as required.

3) Rather than obtaining a written legal opinion from the town solicitor on the legality of the Sweetbriar property tax break, the town council circumvented the town solicitor relying instead on a written opinion from RI Housing provided through EBCDC. RI Housing later clarified in a letter that they had no jurisdiction over determining local property taxation matters for affordable housing. 

4) Town officials actually knew a tax break for Sweetbriar was illegal as requested stating this in a 2004 document filed in the town land records. 

It appears the town is repeating the 2008 tax break disaster with Palmer Pointe. In 2013, EBCDC sent a letter to the town assessor outlining the need for a Palmer Pointe tax break, stating, “funding by RI Housing has relied upon this tax treatment, without which would render the project infeasible.” EBCDC later denied to the town council that they asked for a Palmer Pointe tax break. 

Will the town council finally decide if tax break decisions belong with residents in the Financial Town Meeting?

Don't expect that debate any time soon!

Gary Morse

Barrington