Town begins re-certification process for Homestead Exemption recipients

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For the first time since the tax credit was instituted in 2007, homeowners receiving the Homestead Exemption are being required to go through a re-certification process with the town.

Mayor Joseph Polisena announced Tuesday that the process is now underway, and will continue through May 31. All forms must be returned to the Johnston tax assessor no later than that date in order for property owners to have the exemption reflected on their July 1 tax bill.

“Re-certifying for the Homestead Exemption is imperative,” the mayor said.

“I encourage everyone to fill out and return the Homestead Exemption re-certification form and provide the appropriate forms of proof of residence, which are listed on the back side, as soon as they receive it in the mail.”

Polisena said people may mail the documents or come to Johnston Town Hall to have their documents notarized and photographed. Failure to properly file the forms with appropriate residency documentation will result in the homeowner losing the exemption, through which Johnston homeowners can qualify to pay taxes on 80 percent of their property rather than the full value.

“We need to re-certify all owner-occupied property in the town of Johnston,” Polisena said. “Homeowners are moving out, leasing or renting their properties and still receiving the 20-percent Homestead Exemption even thought property is not owner-occupied.”

And that, the mayor said, leads to additional problems, such as children from outside the community enrolling in the town’s schools.

“Some homeowners allow relatives and friends, by using bogus leases to use their Johnston address, to register children from other cities into our schools,” he said. “And that could cost taxpayers millions of dollars to educate students from other districts. We need to educate only our Johnston children.”

The mayor said the ultimate goal will eventually be to get an ordinance passed by the Town Council that will allow the town to bill homeowners who allow non-residents into the school system.

“My administration and the Johnston Town Council will no longer tolerate our legitimate owner-occupied taxpayers to be ripped off,” he said.

Under a recently approved ordinance, should the town learn that a homeowner fraudulently filed a Homestead re-certification form, that homeowner shall lose their eligibility for the exemption permanently.

“Not many communities continue to offer the homestead exemption,” Polisena said. “We are very serious about rooting out fraud against our taxpayers.”

The town is also review records as part of the re-certification process. The mayor also asked that anyone who knows of an instance of the Homestead Exemption being granted improperly contact his office 401-553-8800. All calls, he said, will be kept confidential.

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