Last night, the North Providence Town Council voted 6 to 1 to raise property taxes by 17%.  A property tax increase is never good, but when you factor in the effects of the recession and the fact that this 17% increase will be levied on homes with excessive valuations due to the housing bubble, you have a disaster for taxpayers.  It's a tough situation that North Providence's leaders are too incompetent to solve.

     Councilman Paul Caranci was the only member to vote no on the budget.  He also submitted a plan to cut spending and raise revenue, but the other members seemed to prefer the 17% property tax increase instead.  Rather than solid budgeting and belt-tightening, Mayor Charles Lombardi and the Town Council seem to be looking for a quick fix to solve their problems.  Council President Joseph Burchfield actually had the audacity to suggest another supplemental tax increase once the General Assembly convenes in January.  To his credit, Representative Arthur Corvese shot down the idea, and stated that no community would be able to implement a mid-year tax increase.

     One plan put forth by Councilman Frank Manfredi would involve offering a tax treaty to Lowe's.  In return for the corporation paying 5 years worth of property taxes up front, the Town could reduce the total amount owed by the company over that time.  There's no guarantee Lowe's would be interested in such a plan, and even if they were, would it make sense to give up tax revenue?  Councilman Raymond Douglas offered this profound suggestion: "We have the next six months to look at different things."    Who knows what these "different things" might entail.  From observing how the Town of North Providence is run, Mr. Douglas might not know himself.

     At this point, there seems to be only one solution for North Providence: Vote Charles Lombardi and the Town Council out of office.  A complete change of leadership is needed to make the tough decisions and put and end to delaying the inevitable.