Nonprofit Property Tax Abatements

At a glance

What: retroactive tax abatements for nonprofit-held properties, taken up as items 34 (AS220 properties), 38 (Shiloh Gospel Temple) and 39 (a domestic-violence services property, captioned as the Blackstone Valley Advocacy Center).
Where it stands: all three passed on October 15, 2026. Items 38 and 39 passed 10-1; item 34 passed as amended 10-1. Jo-Ann Ryan voted no each time.
Main dispute: no fiscal note and no named budget offsets for a mid-year abatement.

Item 34: substitute adds plat and lot numbers so only property used for AS220 purposes is covered; commercial properties explicitly excluded. Total bill about $165,000; abatement estimated about $80,000, final figure from the assessor; said to be budgeted with the mayor's office.
Item 38: about $32,774 outstanding for 2026; property repeatedly put up for tax sale during three years of renovation.
Item 39: about $18,970 and $1,775 on two parcels; committee verified solely domestic-violence use.
Supporters (Councilor Graves, Councilor Harris, Shelley Peterson) said the items were vetted in committee and a 2026 filing error needed fixing; the organization received a city grant for 2025.
Ryan: retroactive abatement after the budget and levy passed is bad practice; transparency requires fiscal notes.

About 19 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-10-15 - City Council	19

2026-10-15 - City Council - Items 34, 38, 39: debate over missing fiscal notes; 38 and 39 passed 10-1, item 34 held and then passed as amended 10-1 after the Council President gave the estimates.