ORDER-2020-77 : An Order to Provide Motor Vehicle Excise Tax Relief

Transcript (~9 min @ 2:02:08)

Speakers identified by voice; unnamed voices are numbered within this recording. Auto-caption text — verify against the video.

▶ 2:01:53 Robb Stewart: Yes, sir. I would just also like to respond to the chair too on this part. There was also discussion from council Garakai regarding the state funding potential. And it would be nice to know if, what options there are from that standpoint beyond chapter 90.

▶ 2:02:14 Speaker 9: Thank you.

▶ 2:02:17 Speaker 6: Thank you, Councillor.

▶ 2:02:21 Christopher Cinella: In order 2020-77, in order to provide motor vehicle excise tax relief, sponsored by Councillor Tramontozzi and Councillor McMaster. You guys want to do rock, paper, scissors to see who can speak first on this, virtually?

▶ 2:02:38 Speaker 2: Thank you.

▶ 2:02:41 Shawn M. MacMaster: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, just as background for my colleagues, this is an order that Consulate Ramantosi and I began working on in mid-March, filed it on March 26. The purpose of it is to provide tax relief to residents who may be struggling to pay their excise tax bill which was due in in March the where we stand at this point though we're not looking to go forward with the order tonight as it's written and the reason for that is that I think as many of you know since we have filed since filing our order on March 26th the legislature has passed and the governor has signed a municipal relief legislation and based on that legislation we really prohibited from exceeding the relief that is in the governor's law or the law that's been signed by the governor so the way the order is now asks for relief beyond the June 1st deadline and the June 30th date which would allow for fees and penalties and interest to be to be waived. So as it stands now the order is not a legally appropriate order in that we cannot supersede what it is that the governor has ordered. It was an attempt by Consulate Chairman Tosi and I prior to that to seek relief, but we recognize that we can't go on beyond that. However, there is some statutory discretion that already exists. And that discretion relates to two areas. The first is demand notices and the fees associated with the fee associated with the demand notice. The second is with respect to transmitting delinquent taxpayers information into the Registry of Motor Vehicles. I know everyone has a copy of our letter that Councilor Tramontozzi and I sent to Mayor Broder in response to a letter he sent to us on April 6th, speaking to our order. And I do wanna recognize and applaud Mayor Broder for authorizing the maximum relief under the municipal relief legislation that he's authorized to do at the mayor. He is aware, and the mayor and I spoke earlier this evening, that Councilor Tramontozzi and I do want to assess next steps. And there's really one of two things we can do. We can either pull the order based on further discussions and dialogue with Mayor Broder, which he's indicated he's open to doing. There's also some data that we've requested that the mayor said that he would assist us, facilitate getting and based on that information we'd be in a better position to figure out how we intend to proceed again whether that's withdrawing the order or filing an amendment that would allow us to proceed on the additional statutory discretion that already inherently exists so based on that Mr. Chairman I'd make a motion at this time to hold this order in committee

▶ 2:06:18 John N. Tramontozzi: Thank you Mr. Chairman and I agree with Council McMaster's representations and I would second that motion obviously and there's another reason why I think it's important is because we have a another order that's making its way into that was on the one of our original board meeting sent to appropriations and that's the real estate tax relief as well and that's making its way into the Appropriations Committee and so my thought is that that order together with the exercise tax order can be handled together and it makes sense to keep them together so when the other one gets into the Appropriations Committee it'll be there with this one so I would make that motion but what I'd like to do too is the the letter of the mayor dated April 6th and our counselor McMaster in my letter dated April 29th be attached to this order so I would make that motion we can I'll second the motion to keep it in committee and then further make a motion assuming council goes along with

▶ 2:07:44 Christopher Cinella: it further make those we have to dispose of the first motion and then we can get

▶ 2:07:52 Christopher Cinella: to that so a motion on the floor to hold this what are in committee by Council McMaster, seconded by Councilor Tramontozzi. Madam Clerk, over.

▶ 2:08:03 Leila Migliorelli: Chairman, is there a point of discussion here? Are we able to-

▶ 2:08:06 Christopher Cinella: Sorry, I didn't see any other hands.

▶ 2:08:09 Speaker 1: Oh, sorry.

▶ 2:08:09 Christopher Cinella: Raise your hand. Okay, go ahead.

▶ 2:08:11 Leila Migliorelli: I am now. Yeah. So I just, I guess going forward, we're talking about the point of clarification is on demand notices. So I'm just curious if we hold this in committee, I think coming back at the next committee, some information on what, who this is affecting, and how many like how many notices do we get? We're just dropping the fee. I just wanna know who's being impacted by this in comparison to the rest of, you know.

▶ 2:08:38 Shawn M. MacMaster: Through the chair. Yes, thank you very much, counselor. And that is some of the outstanding data that we've requested that the mayor indicated tonight that he would be circling back with his staff to provide those answers prior to the next meeting. So you're absolutely right. There are, I believe, five questions we had submitted to the administration in conjunction with the letter that we sent back on April 20th. So to give the administration some more time, to be respectful of the knowledge and information that exists that it needs to gather, we think it would behoove us to just hold this for now, get that information and assess how to proceed. So again, through the chair, thank you, Consular, for raising those questions. And what I would do is certainly forward those questions to Ms. Foote that she could circulate to counselors. So counselors would at least know the questions that we asked in advance. And what I would do through the chair is encourage any additional questions through the chair Ms. Foote I think could be presented on top of the questions that we posed because I think Consulate Chairman Mendoza and I don't want to suggest that we have all of the you know the questions in terms of how they may impact taxpayers so I think between now and the next meeting it would give everyone else an opportunity knowing the questions that Council of the Chairman Tozzi and I asked to ask additional questions that we perhaps do not address in those that we put forth thank you thank you any other

▶ 2:10:22 Speaker 6: questions none madam clerk councillor Eccles yes

▶ 2:10:26 Speaker 1: Gara pay yes president Grigoraitis yes so the Jamala Dean yes

▶ 2:10:36 Speaker 1: McMaster it's limit not yes so let me really do it yes

▶ 2:11:01 John N. Tramontozzi: Councilor Thomas? Yes. Councilor Tramontozzi? Yes. Chair Cinella? Yes. 11 yes. Okay, for our final order of this evening, oh sorry. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That's right. So at this time we're holding it in committee, but I do want to make a motion to add those letters to the order just so that we have them for next time around when we expect them.

▶ 2:11:20 Christopher Cinella: we speak on it there's a second motion to add those letters to the uh the order by council chairman tozy seconded by council mcmaster