City of Providence Bungles Another Rollout, Elorza Administration Delays Homestead Certification

City of Providence Bungles Another Rollout, Elorza Administration Delays Homestead Certification

The city of Providence was forced to delay the Homestead Certification program after criticism, sending out notices weeks late and having technology issues — the most serious of which still has not been corrected.

For Providence homeowners, they are now up against the clock to affirm that they still live in their own homes. At stake for residents who fail to properly affirm their residency is a 40% increase in property taxes.

The letter notifying residents was dated December 1, but was not received by residents up to three weeks letter.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

In an email to Council President Sabina Matos, Katharine Roberts of the Providence-based EF Bishop Group wrote, "As you know, this process has been nothing short of horrific. In addition, there is not enough staff to assist people with questions. Besides the mailing being sent out weeks after it was dated, and many people not receiving the documents - since the online process requires the PID number — which is not available on any tax bill, many people cannot access the online form."

"Furthermore, as you are well aware, there are constituents who cannot access computers to complete the forms and copies," added Roberts. "Also, the website returns no receipt or documentation of completion leaving the constituents unsure of their status."

"I would suggest that this entire fiasco needs to be aborted and restarted with a system that can be verified that does not require unavailable information, and does not assume that everyone is capable of doing the work online. This is another non-transparent and botched job," urged Roberts.
 

Failed Role Outs

For Jorge Elorza’s administration, this is fairly consistent. When Providence rolled out the speed zone cameras, the program had to be rebooted and restarted a number of times.

The Elorza administration’s signature bike lane program at one point had to reverse course -- at the cost of $127,000 -- to remove one of the bike paths due to lack of community involvement and opposition.

At the time of the controversy, Council Majority Leader Jo-Ann Ryan announced the new lines on Eaton Street would be removed, after hearing from constituents who were opposed to the new design. 

“The total project cost $127,500 and was paid for by the City through CIP bond money,” said Ben Smith in Elorza's office, when asked what the project cost. The city then said that was for both the initial installation cost $63,500 -- and that the cost for removal, redesign, inspection and restriping will cost $64,000. The total cost is $127,500.

Now, the city has delayed the deadline for weeks, but city officials continue to defend the failed rollout and the technology. "Homeowners were sent a notice that included their "code" or property ID - when you type in your property ID, it will jump to your account where you then verify your name, address, and unit," said Elorza spokesperson Ben Smith.

"We are continuing to improve this process, and are planning some updates by the end of next week. We have also received over 4,500 successful submissions to date. Over 500 were completed on an iPad or iPhone," said Smith.

 

New Deadline

The deadline has now been extended a month from Friday, January 15 to Friday, February 12, 2021.

The Elorza administration issued a statement this week, "The homestead exemption provides residential homeowners a 40% reduction on their annual property taxes."

Providence residents claiming the homestead exemption must demonstrate proof of residency and identification in order to qualify for the exemption, which will be applied to their July 2021 tax bill."