Providence nearly lost Camp Cronin. Narragansett says the city finally paid its back taxes.
Providence has paid off years of overdue taxes and is no longer on the verge of losing Camp Cronin, its long-unused seaside camp in Narragansett.
In August, The Providence Journal revealed that the city owed thousands of dollars in unpaid property taxes to the Town of Narragansett, and that the desirable 2-acre parcel at Point Judith had quietly gone up for auction at a tax sale in 2022.
Mayor Brett Smiley's administration has since paid off the back taxes, staving off a foreclosure.
"Since this administration became aware of the tax situation we have been working diligently with the Town of Narragansett to pay all of the outstanding taxes and the account is no longer delinquent," Josh Estrella, a spokesman for Smiley, wrote in an email on Wednesday.
How Providence racked up $34K in unpaid taxes
Records show that Providence failed to pay the $16,721 that it owed in property taxes in tax year 2021, prompting the October 2022 tax sale.
The city also failed to make any payments in tax year 2022. By August 2023, Providence owed a total of $34,556 in unpaid property taxes, according to Narragansett Finance Director Christine Wilson.
While the tax bills went unpaid and the property went on the auction block, then-Mayor Jorge Elorza's administration was spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to renovate the once-derelict camp.
"The city fell behind on these taxes because the previous administration failed to pay these taxes and the tax bills sent at the start of this year were not received," Estrella wrote.
Speaking to WPRI in August, Smiley said that Narragansett had been mailing tax bills to Providence's Recreation Department, rather than the city's Finance Department.
Wilson confirmed that Providence has now paid off the back taxes. The payment was initiated Aug. 1 and paid by Aug. 3, she wrote in an email.
The city still has an outstanding balance of $451, which is not due until April 1, 2024, Wilson said.
Estrella said that the city is "processing the payment" for the remaining amount, "which is associated with late fees for the balances owed between 2020-2023."
Investors could have bought a million-dollar property for a fraction of its value
Providence's portion of Camp Cronin – not to be confused with the state-owned Camp Cronin Fishing Area next door – is valued at nearly $1.1 million.
Airway Leasing LLC, an investment company that frequently obtains real estate through tax sales, stood to buy it for less than the price of a new Honda Civic.
The company was the winning bidder at the Oct. 6, 2022, tax sale, purchasing the lien on the Ocean Road property for $17,006.
Under state law, property owners have one year after their property is sold at a tax sale to pay off their debts, plus interest and any additional fees tacked on by the purchaser of the lien. If they fail to do so, the investor who bought the lien can foreclose on the property.
Records show that Narragansett's tax collector filed a corrective deed on Aug. 7, indicating that Providence had paid $19,496 to redeem its title on the property. That sum included more than $2,400 in interest and recording fees.
Asked why city-owned Camp Cronin is subject to taxes, Estrella said that all municipalities "are responsible for property taxes for property they own outside of their town/city lines."
The property has been taxed since 1958, Wilson said.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Camp Cronin in Narragansett still belongs to Providence – will it open?
