Chafee Signs Bill Bringing Bryant to Table With Smithfield On Payments in Lieu of Taxes

Gov. Lincoln Chafee has signed a bill allowing Smithfield to charge Bryant University for police and fire services starting March 1 unless a financial agreement between the two is worked out by then.

The legislation sponsored by Sen. Stephen R. Archambault (D-Dist. 22,Smithfield, North Providence, Johnston) and Rep. Thomas Winfield (D-Dist. 53, Smithfield, Glocester) (2013-S 0026Aaa and 2013-H 5083A), allow Smithfield to begin billing the school on March 1 unless a financial agreement between the two is worked out by then. It passed both chambers in the General Assembly last week. 

The passage was met by pleas from Bryant President Ronald Machtley and Michael Fisher, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Bryant University to Chafee to veto the measure.

Machtley held a press conference on the matter Sunday at 5 p.m., a few hours before the university hosted the town's Fourth of July celebration at their Bulldog Stadium. Machtley also listed a number of contributions the university makes to the town that compensate for its impact on town services. 

Fisher wrote an op/ed piece about the bills in The Providence Journal July 10. "Rather than engaging in productive discussions regarding Bryant’s proposal, in a move that among other things now involves questions of constitutional law, Smithfield officials instead enlisted the Rhode Island General Assembly to alter our tax-exempt status," Fisher wrote to the Journal, repeating Machtley's call for a veto.

Chafee did not appear swayed by their arguments. "This legislation is not about taxing a non-profit or undermining its IRS protections, but it is about bringing both partners to the table to strike a balanced and fair relationship," the Governor wrote in a statement shortly after signing the legislation into law. 

Archambault was also not moved by their pleas. "The plain facts - that no amount of slick, high priced lobbying can wish away - are that Smithfield property taxpayers continue to subsidize the town services used by a wealthy private university — and that is simply unfair. The total assessed value for the property and buildings at Bryant University is over $200 million and the annual property tax bill would be over $2 million. Yet, unlike nearly every other college and university in Rhode Island , Bryant has refused to enter into any payment agreement with its host community," Archambault wrote. 

Archambault, a former Smithfield Town Council President, said he knows first-hand how Smithfield officials have tried to reach an agreement with Bryant for the university to make annual payments in lieu of taxes, as other institutions in the state have done with their host communities. "Bryant officials have refused to come to the table, choosing to fund an expensive lobbying campaign filled with misinformation instead — a lobbying campaign that continues to this day," Archambault said.

"The legislation that I sponsored, along with my House colleagues Tom Winfield and Gregory Costantino, requires Bryant to come to the table and negotiate an agreement in good faith; it does not mandate a specific outcome. It also gives Bryant until March 1, 2014 to reach an agreement with Smithfield and that is plenty of time.  This legislation overwhelmingly passed both Houses of the General Assembly, because it is unfortunately clear that Bryant will continue to refuse the town’s reasonable requests unless there is the leverage this bill provides," Archambault wrote.

On Thursday night, Machtley said Bryant would meet with town officials. "We continue to believe this legislation is unconstitutional, unwarranted, and needlessly divisive. We will meet with the town in the hope that amicable and fair agreements can be reached to avoid expensive and time consuming litigation. However, the university will now undertake a review and consider all of its options, including litigation, until this matter is satisfactorily resolved," Machtley wrote in a release responding to Chafee's decision.