Delinquent Little Compton taxpayers stiff town for $626,476

Town starts get tough collection action

By Tom Killin Dalglish
Posted 1/26/17

LITTLE COMPTON — The budgeting process in town for next fiscal year is underway, and Budget Committee Chairman George Crowell is focusing early attention on about 126 - 131 people in town who haven't paid their property taxes.

The town needs the revenues that the unpaid taxes represent — an estimated $626,476 (including penalties), if collected.

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Delinquent Little Compton taxpayers stiff town for $626,476

Town starts get tough collection action

Posted

LITTLE COMPTON — The budgeting process in town for next fiscal year is underway, and Budget Committee Chairman George Crowell is focusing early attention on about 126 - 131 people in town who haven't paid their property taxes.
The town needs the revenues that the unpaid taxes represent — an estimated $626,476 (including penalties), if collected.
"Things are not good," Mr. Crowell said a week ago, prior to a recent joint interview with Council President Robert Mushen and Town Administrator Tom Dunn. "We as budget committee have been talking about this issue for a while. Over the years the trend has increased."
All three concurred that the status of being delinquent does not include people who pay taxes on a quarterly basis.
Notices sent
In an effort to collect delinquent taxes, said Town Administrator Tom Dunn, the town on Dec. 29 sent 236 "notices"— not demand letters, by regular not registered mail, and unaccompanied by an explanatory letter — to people determined to owe taxes to the town.
[The discrepancy between the number of notices (236) and the reported number of delinquencies (126-131) was not explained.]
The "notices" say, "We have previously informed you of your delinquent taxes. Please be reminded that interest accrues daily on the unpaid balance."
One taxpayer, for example, with seven years of unpaid taxes due, owed taxes of $1,504.13 for just one of those years (tax year 2011), and now owes penalties of $958.19 for that year, for a total now due of $2,462.32 for 2011.
If notices don't prove successful, Mr. Dunn said, the next step will be to send a formal letter by registered mail, with a 30-day warning that legal action will be commenced if payment isn't made.
"They were not demand letters," said Mr. Dunn. They were also sent by regular mail, not certified or registered, he said.
"We have not decided to publish the names of delinquent taxpayers," Mr. Dunn said. "We're trying to get Mary-Jane Harrington to collect the taxes."
"We're not at the point where people need to be shamed, " said Mr. Mushen.
Not a new issue
"This is by no means a new issue, " said Bob Goff, the newly elected town tax assessor about all the tax delinquencies. Mr. Goff was last year's budget committee chairman. In an interview, Mr. Goff cited last year's tax collector's annual report for the year ending June 30, 2015, which showed $694,263 in uncollected tax revenues going back to 2002.
The Little Compton Taxpayer's Association (LCTA) Newsletter for May 11, 2016 published a total it had then calculated, as of April 27, 2016, of "about $881,176" in delinquent taxes, including late charges and interest.
["But perhaps this indicates that taxes are too high and helps to explain why the student population has dropped so much," The LCTA said then about the arrearages].
The focus on tax delinquencies comes at a time when the town is facing the possibility of convening a special Financial Town Meeting to meet unexpected costs for firefighter overtime, litigation, health care, and special education. Council President Bob Mushen has estimated the amount needed to be in the range of $150,000.
"The estimation is based on what we've spent to date and on what we might have to spend during the rest of the year," he said.
Role of tax collector Harrington
Elected Tax Collector Mary-Jane Harrington had been invited to a December 13 meeting of the budget committee, but she declined.
The budget committee voted to request her presence at the committee's Jan. 24 meeting, sent her an invitation to be present, and reportedly she attended.
Attempts to reach Ms. Harrington for comment by phone and e-mail were unsuccessful.
Town Administrator Dunn followed up on her Dec. 13 decline with a Memo to Ms. Harrington, dated the same day, requesting a complete list of those taxpayers, out of the 126 -131 total who were delinquent, who were on payment plans, along with names, amounts, penalties, principle amounts, and details of the payment plans.
Ms. Harrington provided him with a hand written list of four individuals — one delinquent since 2005, one delinquent since 2013, and two others whose payment plans began in 2016.
Examples of delinquencies
Laura Rom, who edits an online publication called Rhody Red Press, has analyzed extensive files and reports obtained through public records requests, all dealing with delinquent taxes in Little Compton.
Ms. Rom reports that she has found six individuals delinquent in the amounts indicated below for the years indicated:
• $66,161 (for years 2007-2016);
• $52,222 (for years 2007-2016);
• $33,055 (for years 2013-2016);
• $23,960 (for years 2012-2016);
• $24,358 (for years 2006-2016);
• $37,269 (for years 2010-2016).
None of the six indicated appear on Ms. Harrington's list of four delinquent taxpayers who are on payment plans.
According to Ms. Rom's research, the number of new delinquencies has risen dramatically in the last ten years: 2007(5), 2008(8), 2009 (11), 2010(16), 2011(20), 2012(26), 2013(35), 2014(42), 2015(67), 2016(123).
Out-of-town owners delinquent
62 of the delinquent properties in town, says Ms. Rom, are owned by people with out-of-town mailing addresses:
• Delinquency $21,000 and over: 6 properties, none out-of-town.
• Delinquency $10,001-$20,000: 19 properties, 5 mailing addresses out-of-town;
• Delinquency $5,001-$10,000: 17 properties, 9 mailing address out-of-town;
• Delinquency $2,001-$5,000: 19 properties, 12 mailing addresses out-of-town;
• Delinquency $500-$2,000: 47 properties, 20 mailing addresses out-of-town;
• Delinquency under $500: 18 properties, 16 mailing addresses out-of-town.
Estimating delinquencies
Mr. Goff says there are 3,368 parcels of land in Little Compton, of which 2,884 are residential and which include the 126 -131 delinquent properties. The rest, he said, are open space, exempt, or commercial.
The total dollar amount of the tax delinquencies may vary depending upon whether penalties and interest are included, whether the amount includes delinquent motor vehicle and tangible property taxes, and what the cut-off date is — June 30, December 31, or some other convenient date.

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