The City of Providence has announced its priorities for the legislative session that starts at the Statehouse Tuesday. Among them are plans to shore up more cash to cover the millions of dollars the city owes in funding for its schools, and measures meant to entice developers to build more housing.
Schools
When a judge ruled last year that the city of Providence needed to pay more money to fund its school system, which remains under a state takeover that began in 2019, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said it left a shortfall of about 15 million dollars in this year’s budget, and millions more in the years to come. To make up that amount, the mayor is hoping legislators will introduce several bills for him.
One bill would lift the 4% cap on the amount that the city can raise its property taxes this year. The proposal does not include a maximum. The mayor said he is not yet sure how much he would like to raise property taxes and that it depends, in part, on how much levy growth there will be based on the semi-annual property tax revaluation. He said he will have that information in a few weeks.
Housing
Mayor Smiley wants to amend a state real estate tax credit program capped at $15 million in tax credits for development projects to allow construction materials to be subsidized separately. He says this will allow the Superman building’s developer to meet its funding gap and finally finish the more than decade-long project to convert the building into housing.
“If this building sits vacant for another decade, it will continue to do meaningful harm to Providence, and particularly downtown Providence,” he said.
[DISCLOSURE: Chace and his firm, Cornish Associates are long-time supporters of The Public’s Radio.]
To read more about the city’s 2025 legislative goals, click this link.
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