City of Central Falls
City Council Meeting
City Hall Council Chambers
Friday, June 8, 2001
At 4:00 p.m.
A special meeting of the Central Falls City Council was held on the above date in the City Hall Council Chambers at 4:16 p.m.
Councilman Lazieh
Councilwoman Canavan
Councilman Noury
Quorum present.
Council President Noury presided.
Mayor Matthews spoke on the Resolution regarding the Statistical Revaluation and stated that he would ask the City Council to at the very least table the resolution.
He pointed out that the second paragraph of the Resolution which states that the present administration's delay when in fact the delay was caused by the need of the City to iron out differences created by the past administration not the present one. He said that the City faced several lawsuits created by the previous administration from Hedco, Carties and Dexter Credit Union.
Councilman Lazieh stated to the chair that the Mayor states the previous administration regarding the lawsuit and that it should be stated previous revaluation.
Councilman Lazieh stated that this is the second time the Mayor has commented in this way and he doesn't wish this to continue.
Council President Noury asked the Mayor to keep his remarks to the subject.
Mayor Matthews responded that he is but with all respect to the Council he pointed out that he is stating facts and that he sees this Resolution as a political attack.
Council President Noury stated to Councilman Lazieh that he would be allowed some personal privilege after the Mayor's comments if he wished to respond but to allow the Mayor to continue.
Mayor Matthews continued to remark on how that last revaluation was implemented and all the issues that had to take place with Vision in order to proceed with the current revaluation. He stated that he doesn't see this as being and if anyone believed that this was a delay then there should be a date as to what that delay actually is. He then addressed that next paragraph of the Resolution, which stated that his Administration never offered the opportunity for all to publicly meeting for discussion.
Mayor Matthews stated that this is absolutely not true and the fact of the matter is the Mayor should not be in the process of a revaluation, he should not be in the middle of what values of people's property are. He pointed out what is happening in Providence regarding that very issue. He stated that the Mayor is the last person who should be involved in revaluation. He stated that he certainly did not prevent the public from meeting nor will he prevent neither the public from nor the Council from having these meetings. He stated that he told the Council the other night that if they felt they should hold meetings the response was that maybe the Council didn't feel it was their obligation and that it was also the response that the people can't come. He stated then why weren't they at the last meeting during the budget process. He commented that the Resolution stated that the City Council has not now or ever been apprised of the revaluation. He said that this certainly not the Administration's fault. He stated that if the Council wished to be appraised then it has its avenues to pursue. He stated that he doesn't know if there is a requirement until after the revaluation is complete. He commented on the paragraph, which states that it is unfair and premature for Mayor Matthews and the Tax Assessor to implement this revaluation. He stated that he wished to make it perfectly clear that, but he feels there this is nothing more than political rhetoric, he said that he is not implementing a revaluation, but that the State Law requires the City of Central Falls to implement it, not the Central Falls City Council, not the Mayor, but the City as a whole.
Council President Noury asked doesn't the Mayor feel as the CEO that that's the Administration.
Mayor Matthews responded that he is the Administration but what the Council is trying to do is make it look like the MAYOR is implementing a tax revaluation and that is not the case, it's the state law that requires the CITY to do that.
Council President Noury stated that the Mayor has to administer that program.
Mayor Matthews cautioned the Council that he doesn't believe this Resolution doesn't meets all the requirements and if the Council wishes to ask for an extension then its within their right to do so but they should make sure that they are within the law to do so. He said that all the Resolution asks if for the General Assembly to take proper action and that for some this may mean to tear it up and throw it in the basket, but if the Council is asking for an extension then they should do so consistent with Rhode Island General Law and this doesn't do that. He stated that he believes that some members of the Council have been in contact with the Department of Municipal Affairs. He said that they told him that should this Resolution pass number one it immediately jeopardizes any proposed increased revenues from the Governor's for the City of Central Falls. IMMEDIATELY whether the General Assembly acts on it or not and secondly should the General Assembly take it into consideration and begin to act on it the Office of Municipal Affairs is going to testify objecting to it and require that the City implement the revaluation. He said while that process is going on which clearly is going to take longer than July 1st the City is going to be in limbo with respect to what values we have on our properties, what the tax rate is on our properties and whether bills can go out or not go out if there is an extension of the revaluation then we should also realize the ramifications of that. He said there is a need of approximately $600,000 in additional revenue to operate next year over the existing budget. If the state cuts out any proposed additional increases then it even greater than the $600,000. He said if the City stays at the current tax rate of $26.25 it will have to increase $3-$5 to cover the current expenditures for next year that's anywhere between $240.00-$300.00 increase over what people are paying this year. He said that he believes that the Council really needs to understand what its asking for with this Resolution and what its asking for is really not consistent with the law but that its going to make other people to take certain actions against the City. He said its certainly going to cause at the very least confusion on what the tax rate is. He said that the Resolution also talks about hearings and there was talk the other night about hearings he referred to the Vision contract which talks about informal public hearings at a time mutually agreed upon by the Assessor and Vision following the completion of all the work by the Assessor and Vision. The Mayor concluded that if the Council wishes to take an attack on him then do so but he said that they shouldn't jeopardize the finances of this community. He stated that this resolution should be tabled and the City Council should be sure to author a Resolution that is consistent with Rhode Island General Law.
A. Resolution regarding the City Wide Statistical Revaluation Update. (Introduced by Council President Noury)
Motion to approve was made by Councilman Lazieh and seconded by Councilwoman Canavan.
Council President Noury stated that he has been in contact with members of the General Assembly to ask them to consider this and they responded that they would.
He said that he is well aware of the $278,000 in revenue sharing monies that potentially could be lost. He stated that he has already asked them members of the general assembly if they consider this to include in the legislation that Central Falls should not be penalized in any way as far as revenues coming into the City. He stated that if the legislation does pass it would have that provision in it. He stated that in his opinion that the revaluation should have been handled in a more expedient manner. He stated that Pawtucket has completed their process in January and February. He said here the City is at the end of the gun just before the budget and people in the community have stated to him that they wished they had more time for this process. He said that is why he supports this Resolution.
Councilwoman Canavan stated that she is supporting this also because she is receiving a lot of feed back from people in Ward 3 who are asking the same questions who are they suppose to talk to who do they contact and if public meeting are scheduled then these people would have the opportunity to state their concerns with the same people who have them. She stated that she is aware that the public hearings can take place after the process is completed but when are these hearing scheduled. The process is completed and people are going to be taxed in two to three weeks. She stated that she feels the whole process started to late and that it should have started a long time ago and that it should have been a slow process so that people could digest the information as it went along and the public hearings could have been held. She stated that it was completed too quickly. She stated that it started too late and ended too late.
Councilman Lazieh commented that as he has stated in his letter to the Mayor, the Solicitor and the Assessor that he just does not feel the update was not handled properly and the Mayor, as the Chief Executive Officer, it is his responsibility to make sure he oversees this process. He said that the Mayor doesn't have to get directly involved, but that its his obligation to see that the process is done in time for the betterment of the community and at a consistent schedule as was provided in the contract and this was not the case. It is a matter that of the administration, which he believes, caused the delay and that is what is stated in the Resolution. He said many people have not had the opportunity to come in and that this process was not a public process. He said that this City Council has not been updated as he had requested on this process and this has not been an open process.
All Agreed. So Voted.
B. Resolution Directing the Mayor to present to the City Council a balanced budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001. (Introduced by Councilman Lazieh)
Motion to approve was made by Councilwoman Canavan and seconded by Councilman Lazieh. All Agreed. So Voted.
1. An ordinance amending the FY 2000/2001 Budget. (Introduced by Council President Noury)
Council President Noury, for the record, read the specific line items that the amendments are in reference to.
Motion to amend as was specifically read by the Council President was made by Councilman Lazieh and seconded by Councilwoman Canavan. All Agreed. So Voted.
Motion to approve as amended was made by Councilman Lazieh and seconded by Councilwoman Canavan. All Agreed. So Voted.
1. An Ordinance establishing a Restrictive receipt cash, special reserve account. (Introduced by Council President Noury)
Mayor Matthews asked the Council President as the author of this Ordinance if he had sought any legal advice relative to the Ordinance.
Council President Noury responded that a Public Hearing is to express views and concerns and not to question the Council.
The Mayor responded that he needs to understand what the purpose of the Ordinance is.
Council President Noury commented.
Mayor Matthews stated that the purpose of a public hearing is to understand the purpose of the Ordinance and that is what he is trying to do with this Ordinance.
He then asked the Council President in what section of the Charter is the Council allowed to create this Ordinance.
Council President Noury responded that it's in the Charter which allows the Council to legislate.
Discussion continued.
The Council President responded that this is similar to the one that was created a few years ago.
The Mayor responded that the Ordinance was recommended by the Administration at that time and this one is not and that is why he is asking under what Charter section allows the Council to enact this legislation. He stated that he would like to know what the council exact intent by enacting this Ordinance.
Council President Noury responded that the intent is to prohibit the Administration from the use of surplus funds in this year's current operating budget.
The Mayor responded that this doesn't address that and asked if this is the only intent.
Council President Noury responded that it was because the Administration, in his opinion, did not follow the Council's directions and wishes that were clearly expressed during last year's budget meeting and that they felt compelled legislatively to compel the Administration to live within the budget that the Council
legislated.
Mayor Matthews commented that at the meeting the other night Councilman Lazieh commented that the Administration could use the Surplus at any time it wishes. He said that as he reads this Ordinance he advised the Council to seek legal counsel within the law department and not outside it. He said he feel that they should ask for a written opinion as to whether this is consistent with the charter. He said that this is the same advice that he gave the council when they passed the budget last year when begged them to seek legal counsel. He remarked that they would not be in this position now if they had done that. He said what this ordinance appears to be is that under paragraph A is that $267,000 will be taken out of the revenues of 2000/2001 and set aside to create an account. He said that it doesn't say that the $267,000 will be taken from the accumulative surplus. It says its going to be taken from the revenues of the City of Central Falls and that means now the account will be $267,000 even further short that we were based on the budget the Council believes is in place. He said that the Council repeatedly stated that it doesn't have this information or that information, yet, the Council seems to do whatever it wishes with the Budget of the City of Central Falls without knowing what it is that the Council is doing based on the Council's own admission based on the fact that the Administration is not providing the Council with enough information. He stated that this is going to murky the law up even more this is not going to resolve anything and quite frankly this is going to end up in the Courts again. He stated that he encourages the Council to at least table the Resolution.
Councilman Lazieh moved to approve seconded by Councilwoman Canavan.
Councilman Lazieh stated that he disagrees with the interpretations of the Mayor and that he believes that pursuant to State Law the City has a right to establish reserve accounts it has in the past and the reference the Mayor makes in paragraph A referring to the $267,000 that he submitted in the operating budget as revenue that is the funds that the Council is directing and that if the funds that this Council is directed to. They are revenues because the Mayor placed them in the budget as revenues and the restriction of those is a matter of council action and this Ordinance will then restrict those funds. He said that he feels this only completes the actions the Council took last June when it notified the Mayor not to use surplus funds.
Council President Noury for the record and responding to the Mayor's comments stated that he did not seek any outside legal counsel regarding this matter. He stated that this is pursuant section 45-11-1 establishment and the use of funds according to state laws. He said that he concurs with the remarks made by Councilman Lazieh and he said that it is unfortunate that the Council has had to take this action to have the administration follow the wishes and votes of the council.
On motion to approve all agreed. So Voted.
Motion to adjourn was made by Councilwoman Canavan and seconded by Councilman Lazieh. All Agreed. So Voted. Time 4:50 p.m.
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Elizabeth A. Crowley, CMC
City Clerk