Near Record Tax Increase Passed by Providence City Council

Near Record Tax Increase Passed by Providence City Council

The Providence City Council voted to pass a near-record tax increase.

 

The Council boosted taxes on average by nearly 6% on Monday night. Some landlords and, thus, their tenants will see tax increases as high as 13% passed through.

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Providence’s rents have been exploding, and the new budget will only increase costs for renters. Providence had the largest increase in the average rent from December 2023 to December 2024 of the country’s largest metros. The increase was 12.6% with a median asking rent of $2,145, according to Rent.com.

 

The tax increase rivals those adopted when the city was facing near financial bankruptcy under Providence’s Vincent Cianci’s first run as Mayor and then when Angel Taveras succeeded David Cicilline and dubbed the city’s economic condition a “category 5 hurricane.” Cicilline left Providence near financial ruin. He later apologized.

 

Now, despite a fairly stable economic period — low unemployment, low inflation, and a fairly robust stock market — the City of Providence’s budget is in chaos. And, all of this is before the Trump administration's budget cuts hit cities like Providence.

 

Miller's Budget Too

City Council President Rachel Miller, who pushed the budget through, defended the tax increases.

“This is a tough budget.  Home valuations are through the roof, rents are too high, and the city is making up for decades of underfunding our public schools in just one year,” said Council President Miller.

“In the face of rising costs for residents and for the city, we had difficult decisions to make to meet our obligations and protect core city services. This levy distributes taxes more evenly across properties, protecting homeowners and renters alike, while the budget preserves core services that matter to residents, including no-charge bulk trash pickup. It is a fair and balanced solution to the city’s financial issues.  Thank you to Chairwoman Anthony, members of the Finance Committee, all Councilors, and city staff – who worked together long into the night over the last several months to thread this very difficult needle,”  said Miller.

 

 

One Layoff

When asked what steps Mayor Brett Smiley had taken to reduce personnel costs — more than 80% of the city’s budget is personnel, his spokesman, Josh Estrella, told GoLocal that his administration had made one layoff, and twenty other vacant positions were defunded.

 

Just 9 Months Ago

On November 1, 2024, Smiley issued a press release crowing about the City’s strong financial situation and his fiscal management. Just nine months later, Providence taxpayers face a near-record tax increase.