SPENCER BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Present: (Town Council sitting as Trustees): President Annelise Conway, Vice President Braxton Cloutier, Trustee Humm and Trustee Carl Kustell.

Also, Present: Town Manager Phil Hervey, Town Solicitor Mike Ursillo, and Town Clerk Meredith J. DeSisto

Absent: Trustee Kate Berard

President Conway called the AMEY TUCKER SPENCER TRUST FUND MEETING to order at 6:55P.M.

AGENDA ITEM #2 DISCUSS AND ACT ON MINUTES FROM MARCH 4, 2024:

Motion by Vice President Cloutier and seconded by Trustee Kustell to approve the minutes of the Amey Tucker Spencer Trust Fund from March 4, 2024. The motion passed in favor 4-0-0-1 President Conway, Vice President Cloutier, Trustee Humm and Trustee Kustell; no one opposed, no recusals and one (1) abstention, Trustee Berard absent.

AGENDA ITEM #3 DISCUSS AND ACT: ADJUNCT PROPOSAL FOR SENIOR AID/SENIOR TAX RELIEF PROGRAM (A. KLEPPER)

TM Comment: Allan Klepper has provided updated information on his proposal to provide tax relief for longtime Barrington homeowners, which he describes “as an Annual Micro Reverse Mortgage.” It is based on a program in British Columbia, “whereby the tax savings resulting from local town home exemptions are covered by the Provence to the Town, then recovered by the Provence via annual liens on the taxpayers home; collected upon their moving or death.” The Spencer Trust would serve as the “bank” for funding the program.

Assistant Solicitor Peter Skwirz has provided a memorandum evaluating legal issues related to the proposal. He concludes Barrington would need enabling legislation to enact the program, which is what was required for similar programs in Johnston and Burrillville. He adds that the use of the Spencer Trust to fund the program “may not comply with the restrictions on these funds and may be vulnerable to a legal challenge.”

This appears to be an issue for the Town Council, not the Spencer Trust. I recommend evaluating the programs in Johnston and Burrillville to determine how to move forward, as well as the example from the Province of British Columbia.

President Conway stated that at the last meeting we asked the Solicitor for guidance in terms of what we would be able to provide for relief.

Town Solicitor Mike Ursillo stated that we prepared a memo to the Council and it is the opinion that it (Mr. Klepper’s proposal for tax relief) would not qualify and open the Town up to lawsuits given what the donor of the Spencer Trust set forth as the primary purpose for use of those funds. He said that it would be the Town that would be the beneficiary of that deferment and would not be consistent with the purpose of the Trust which is to attend to the needs of individuals in Town who are basically impoverished.

Trustee Kustell asked the Solicitor if there would be possible corrective language that would limit the parameter such that a program could be consistent with the purpose of the Trust.

Solicitor Ursillo stated that would be difficult to impossible.

Allan Klepper commented that the “poor and unfortunate” of Barrington are different then the poor and unfortunate of Warren, Newport, East Providence, or Burrillville. He stated that he is giving the Town an opportunity in which the Town has pledged to do something for the seniors of the Town. He said that the data is there and all the information was there to contact the Province of British Columbia in which it has been done in Canada. He said he was not taking the funds but borrowing the funds. He continued to discuss his proposal and feel that there are seniors who meet the definition of “unfortunate”.

President Conway suggested to table this discussion, meet with Mr. Klepper and Vice President Cloutier, and debate the definition once we see our tax burden later in the year and discuss it further and place it on a future Town Council agenda.

President Conway opened up PUBLIC COMMENT:

Sherry Stein, 10 Richmond Road said she can’t afford to stay in this Town and can see that others are being pushed out. She said she appreciates Mr. Klepper’s proposal for those that are 65 and older but are not being offered additional programs.

Andy Reich, 21 Half Mile Road expressed concern with the needs of the senior citizens and the disappointment that seniors are encouraged to move to other types of houses and have helped the children of other people go through the school system. He said that we need to recognize the needs of the senior citizens and nothing has been done along those lines. He stated that this is a real priority and an issue that the Town Council needs to put on the front of the agenda because there needs to be some real tax relief in order for the seniors to stay in their homes. Mr. Reich said he understands that there is an exemption that the seniors can get but it is inadequate.

Ann Strong, 55 Teed Avenue, said she agreed with the first two comments. She said the reason that our property taxes are so high is because of the schools. She said in a few months we will see the “for sale” signs on properties as the children have graduated. She suggested to investigate in which we put some sort of school tax on a home - we need to think out of the box.

Cheryl Knorr-Kolkka, 77 Blanding Avenue described how she left Barrington and moved to Georgia because it was cheaper. She said that they have a Homestead for those 65 and older with payment for property taxes and once your children are out of school you do not pay school taxes. She said that in Georgia our house was 4600 square feet, in Barrington our house is 1400 square feet and we pay double the taxes. Our test scores are just as good as Barrington. She said so the fear that if you don’t put all of your tax money into your schools, the schools would go down – don’t believe it! She mentioned that we did have a lot of grandparents move into Town so the children could live with them and they wouldn’t pay the taxes - that loophole was discovered and that no longer happens.

ADJOURN:

Motion by Vice President Cloutier and seconded by Trustee Kustell to adjourn the Amey Tucker Spencer Trust Fund meeting at 7:17PM. The motion passed in favor 4-0-0-1 President Conway, Vice President Cloutier, Trustee Humm and Trustee Kustell; no one opposed, no recusals and one (1) abstention, Trustee Berard absent.

Meredith J. DeSisto, CMC, Town Clerk