Minutes

Monday, November 4, 2024, at 6:30PM

Amey Tucker Spencer Trust Fund Meeting

(Town Council Sitting in their Capacity as Trustees)

Followed by

Town Council Meeting 

Barrington Middle School-Presentation Room

Followed by an

Executive Session

Video: https://vimeo.com/showcase/9672722

Attachments can be found:  https://clerkshq.com/barrington-ri

AMEY TUCKER SPENCER TRUST FUND MEETING

TOWN COUNCIL SITTING IN THEIR CAPACITY AS TRUSTEES

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

Also, Present:               Town Manager Phil Hervey, Town Solicitor Mike Ursillo, Spencer Trust Administrator Karen Griffith and Town Clerk Meredith J. DeSisto

President Conway called the AMEY TUCKER SPENCER TRUST FUND MEETING to order at 6:37P.M. 

 

AGENDA ITEM #2 DISCUSS AND ACT ON MINUTES FROM OCTOBER 7, 2024:

Motion by Vice President Cloutier and seconded by Trustee Humm to approve the minutes of the Amey Tucker Spencer Trust Fund from October 7, 2024. The motion passed in favor 5-0-0-0 President Conway, Vice President Cloutier, Trustee Berard, Trustee Humm and Trustee Kustell; no one opposed, no recusals and no abstentions.

 

AGENDA ITEM #3 DISCUSS AND ACT: “SUPER SENIOR” FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM:

 

TM Comment: According to the draft minutes of the October 7^th meeting, the Trustees voted to “direct the Administration to provide a memorandum for the November 4 Spencer Trust meeting describing an income based “super senior” tax relief program that is a grant or gift that qualifies for the Spencer Trust funding to include the following,

•        A copy of an attestation form provided by the Solicitor's Office,

•        Spencer Trust budget scenarios based on projected income from the trust fund that includes funding for tax relief program and other items such as the administrative fees, the home repair program, agency support and administration and recommendations on household income requirements,

•        And to include other questions such as minimum age requirement,

•        A Minimum number of years owning a home in Barrington (such as 10 years),

•     Drawdown on the total allocation of funds, based on the oldest qualified applicants first (with 80 being the minimum age).”

The Town Council previously directed the Town Manager to work with Barrington resident Allan Klepper on his proposal to create a new tax relief program for “super seniors” who are elderly and have owned a home in Barrington for an extended period of time to help them continue to live in town. His original proposal called for providing financial assistance to offset a portion of their tax bill through a “micro reverse mortgage” program where the amount of funding awarded to an eligible homeowner (no income requirement) would have to be repair, with interest, once ownership of the property changes (sale, death of owner, etc.). The proposed funding source was the Spencer Trust, avoiding impacts on the Town budget.

This is in effect would be a tax deferment program, which other municipalities have in Rhode Island, in which a lien is recorded against a property in the amount of the taxes deferred (with or without interest). Our research indicates that this type of program wouldn’t benefit many people. In East Greenwich, for example, the Town’s tax deferment program available to homeowners over 65 years of age only resulted in less than $20,000 in tax deferments in 2023.

The Town’s senior tax exemption program, available to property owners 65 years of age and older, provided more than $840,000 in tax relief to 982 households in 2023, of which 293 applications were income-based ($682,000 total). The remaining 689 households received the minimum flat rate of $229.20 ($158,000 total), where no income documentation is required. Of the $682,234 total granted in income-based senior tax exemptions, 34.9 percent went to households with at least one owner who was at least 80 years old.

Any changes to this program would have an impact on the Town budget, which is not recommended given the impact the school bond will have on taxpayers.

The Spencer Trust is a potential funding source for this type of program; however, the Solicitor has determined that the use of these funds must include an income restriction to avoid violating the terms of the Trust. Potential options for such a program include:

·       Capping the amount of funding available in a given year.

·       Awarding funding up to the budget cap based on parameters (such as prioritizing the oldest applicants first)

·       Requiring an “attestation” form from applicants stating that their income (and assets, if that is a criterion) is under the maximum amount set by the Trustees. (For some seniors, according to Mr. Klepper, a significant barrier to applying for the income-based senior tax exemption is the requirement to provide the Town with income documentation such as tax returns).

The attached DRAFT application form is provided for the Trustees’ review. The form includes the following:

·       A grant amount of [$_____] for each eligible household (subject to availability of funds). Mr. Klepper has proposed approximately $1,100 per household based on 10% of the average property tax bill.

·       A minimum age of 80 years old.

·       An income limit based on a percentage of the Low-Income Limits for families in the Providence-Fall River, RI-MA HUD Metro FMR Area. Examples of limits would be:

Potential Scenarios: Super-Senior Household Income Limits*

·       A maximum dollar amount for assets. The form suggests placing a limit on liquid assets of $25,000.

·       A 10-year minimum for living in Barrington as their domicile and primary residence.

·       Disclaimers that the funds are subject to “the discretionary decision of the Board of Trustees as to need”, and that the funds will be awarded to qualified applicants, with the oldest receiving priority.

Another question is how much to budget for this program. The Trustees in October discussed (see minutes) starting with a funding level of $121,000.

In FY2021, the Trustees approved a Spencer Trust budget totaling $249,000. Recent budgets (FY2022 and FY2023) have been in the $140,000 range, based on requests and the drawdown of budgeted funds. The Spencer Trust Administrator is requesting the Trustees to approve a total of $70,000 for items that are running low on funds: the Crisis Fund ($10,000), Emergent Fund ($10,000), and the Home Repair Program ($50,000). The Trustees also have supported other agencies such as East Bay Community Action Program, TAP-IN and Meals on Wheels. There also are fund management fees and Spencer Trust administrator fees.

** Recommend receiving input from new Finance Director Maryanne Crawford, who will start this week, before a decision is made on allocating funds for this program and setting the individual grant amount. [Continue to a special meeting date in November?]

Proposed Motion: To approve the establishment of a “Super Senior” Resident Grant program as described in the application form presented to the Trustees [as revised/as presented], with the following additional items to be determined at a future meeting:

•        The amount of individual grant awards.

•        The total funding allocation for the program as part of the overall Spencer Trust budget

Vice President Cloutier explained the Super Senior Financial Assistant Grant program in which that there is at least one income-qualified homeowner who are 80 plus years of age (oldest applicants receiving priority) and have owned their home in Barrington for at least 10 years.  He said that applicants are not guaranteed to receive funding, but the number of grant awards will depend on the total amount available in a given year and the number of qualified applicants.  He said that discussions regarding privacy of income led us with an attestation of income in order for the applicant to be qualified under the Spencer Trust guidelines and must be considered “poor and unfortunate”.  The individual grants totaling approximately $1,100 will be funded using the Spencer Trust with a requirement of household income from any sources that does not exceed the Program Income Limits less than 150% of the Providence-Fall River Area Family Median Income for Low Income Households as determined by HUD with cumulative liquid assets less than $25,000.

Discussion ensued regarding discrimination and protected classes; to include all of the Fair Housing protected classes in RI; the amount of liquid assets and language regarding primary resident.  The discussion continued regarding what the Spencer Trust could use as a budget and it was suggested $121,000 but will be reviewed once the new Finance Director begins.

Motion:  by Vice President Braxton Cloutier and seconded by Trustee Humm to approve the establishment of a “Super Senior” Resident Grant program subject to the review of the Finance Director with regard to the fund support with an amount of $121,000.  The motion passed in favor 5-0-0-0 President Conway, Vice President Cloutier, Trustee Berard, Trustee Humm and Trustee Kustell; no one opposed, no recusals and no abstentions.

Trustee President Conway acknowledged the efforts of Mr. Allan Klepper for all of his work on this program.

AGENDA ITEM #4 DISCUSS AND ACT:  HOUSING BOARD OF TRUSTEES: DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM PROPOSAL AND DATA REGARDING 10% AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN BARRINGTON (C. DESTEFANO)

 

TM Comment: At the October 7, 2024, meeting, the Housing Board of Trustees and Spencer Trustees discussed the Housing Board’s proposed revisions to the terms of the Spencer Trust Downpayment Assistance Program previously presented at the May 6^th meeting.

One of the issues raised was the Housing Board’s proposal to reduce the deed restriction requirement to something less than the 30-year minimum required by State law for a unit to count toward the 10% affordable housing goal. The item was continued to November. President Conway said additional data is needed from the Housing Board on this proposal and the 10% affordability question.

Proposed Motion: No motion provided. (Need direction from the Trustees)

Housing Board of Trustees member William “Bill” DeWitt was present for the discussion in which the Housing Board of Trustees is finding ways to meet the 10% state mandate threshold of affordable housing in Barrington.

Discussion ensued regarding that properties (in Barrington) need to be considered affordable for the long term but he stated that the struggle is with a 30-year deed restriction and other towns are struggling with this as well.

President Conway said, with all due respect, Mr. DeWitt, the 30 years is related to the state mandate of a long-term affordable housing investment.  She said that is what the Housing Board of Trustees is, is chartered with creating and supporting programs that do have that long term investment. She does not think the 30 years was what was preventing people from being able to purchase homes with the down payment assistance program. She thinks the down payment assistance programs challenge was that there were properties within the community that were being purchased by all cash buyers and developers who were looking to flip properties, as opposed to people who were able to come in with the down payment assistance and be able there was no competitive market for them. The challenge is that the program needs to change to be able to secure those properties, but it needs those people who currently have the properties, or the properties that are limited at under $340 to $400,000 this was something that has been based on the AMI, that's essentially what the number is. She said that within the Town of Barrington, we have a number of homes that are currently under that value, the minute they go on the market, they are immediately sold for full cash or to other people who are coming in and updating the homes.  She said your goal as a Housing Board of Trustees member is to ensure that we are preserving those properties, so that they do not go for more than $500 - $600,000 and that we are able to preserve the integrity of the town for a long period of time, as dictated by the state, which requires us to deed restrict those properties for 30 years. These numbers are not created out of nowhere, said President Conway. She said the program itself is not the problem but we need to be able to preserve those properties for a longer period of time, and to be able to use the funds so that we are actually preserving those properties as affordable and she said that is her concern.  She said we are not making any movement on the needle if we are not preserving those homes under deed restriction for 30 years.

 

Trustee Berard said that she does not read the charges being solely about meeting the state mandate. She said actually, historically, the 30-year deed restriction is problematic for buyers, because it takes away the actual thing that builds wealth in people, which is equity in real estate. There has been a lot of research on that particular topic. She thinks the idea was 15-year deed restriction, if she remembers, which cuts it in half and preserves that property for a sizable amount of time. She said that sitting money is horrible, and the program is meant to assist the buyer, not the property. We don't have a housing trust that purchases properties and holds it as affordable. She said it is very hard to preserve the housing stock, that's very hard to do.  She said she disagrees with the idea that the housing board's only job is to meet that state mandate.   She thinks the state mandate is quite unattainable. In fact, a lot of that mandate is meant to be an incentivization to new developments so that we are able to include affordable housing. She said she likes the idea, why not try it? She thinks the unspent money is really a waste. She said that she knows that the board has taken the time and spoken with real estate professionals but we would be remiss to continue to kick this down the road.

 

 

Town Solicitor Mike Ursillo said as we all know, with regard to the 15 years that doesn't count towards the 10% for sure, he said that he would like the opportunity to actually read the charter because whether or not it is solely to promote the affordable housing goals, meaning the 10% versus there's more flexibility. After he read quickly the Charter information, he said that the 15 years will not qualify.

 

Trustee Berard asked Town Solicitor Ursillo to decipher the language, because there is money from the Spencer Trust, and then also money that the council had set aside.  She questioned if that directive or the language change that underlying perspective.

 

Town Solicitor Ursillo said there is a section here that says that the Trust Fund money, this the Affordable Housing Trust Fund money, shall be distributed for the benefit of the target income groups according to the Barrington Affordable Housing Plan adopted November of 2005 and has been amended.  He said that he would like to look at that and just continue this to your next meeting, because a legal opinion is required.

 

Trustee Berard asked for further clarification of the language from the FTM vote that moved that $500,000.  She said that she does not believe that paragraph said the Housing Board of Trustees fund. She said she believes it just said affordable housing.

 

Town Solicitor Ursillo suggested to continue this discussion in January.

 

Motion by President Conway and seconded by Trustee Berard to continue the discussion of the Housing Board of Trustees:  Downpayment Assistance Program Proposal and Data Regarding 10% Affordable Housing in Barrington to the January 13, 2025, meeting.  The motion passed in favor 5-0-0-0 President Conway, Vice President Cloutier, Trustee Berard, Trustee Humm and Trustee Kustell; no one opposed, no recusals and no abstentions.

 

AGENDA ITEM #5 DISCUSS AND ACT:  BUDGET REQUESTS FOR HOME REPAIR FUND, EMERGENT FUND AND CRISIS FUND

TM Comment: Please see memo from Spencer Trust Administrator Karen Griffiths Dieterich, who is requesting additional funds for budget items that are almost out of funds:

o   Crisis Fund: $10,000 (administered by the East Bay Action Program)

o   Emergent Fund: $10,000

o   Home Repair Fund: $50,000

Spencer Trust Administrator Karen Griffith was present for the request as proposed above.

Motion by Vice President Cloutier and seconded by Trustee Humm to approve the amendments to the Spencer Trust budget, (Crisis Fund: $10,000 (administered by the East Bay Action Program), Emergent Fund: $10,000 and Home Repair Fund: $50,000) as presented.  The motion passed in favor 5-0-0-0 President Conway, Vice President Cloutier, Trustee Berard, Trustee Humm and Trustee Kustell; no one opposed, no recusals and no abstentions.

 

AGENDA ITEM #6 PUBLIC COMMENT:

No one wished to comment.

 

ADJOURN:

Motion by Vice President Cloutier to adjourn the meeting by Vice President Cloutier at 7:12PM.  The motion passed in favor 5-0-0-0 President Conway, Vice President Cloutier, Trustee Berard, Trustee Humm and Trustee Kustell; no one opposed, no recusals and no abstentions.

Meredith J. DeSisto, CMC