City residential and commercial real estate and tangible tax bills went online recently and are now expected to arrive in the mail by early next week, City Tax Assessor Neal Dupuis said Tuesday.

The first quarterly payments on the bills totaling about $226 million is due July 15. These preparing to pay bills in full, rather than quarterly, have until Sept. 15 to avoid paying interest.

Dupuis recommends sending payments by mail or stopping in at the Saw Tooth Annex building in Apponaug in advance to the deadline. He noted, the closer it gets to July 15th, the longer the line is expected to be. Online payment is also available. That carries a convenience fee that goes to the vendor. 

“It’s usually busiest at this time of year,” he said of the tax collector and assessor offices.  “A lot of people like to come in-person.”

Mayor Frank Picozzi’s budget called for a 1.5 percent tax rate increase, the first since he was elected. It was a “modest” 1.5 percent increase that the City Council kicked up a few additional pennies to cover an additional $100,000 for the maintenance of the Veterans Middle School football field and track and concerns over projected revenues that were questionable.

The residential rate is $14.47, and the commercial rate is $25.32  per $1,000 of property valuation. The tangible rate is frozen at $34.46 and applies to tangle property in excess of $50,000.

When the governor released his budget, it did not account for lost reimbursement on the $50,000 exemption. City Finance Director Peder Schaefer brought it to the mayor’s attention and in turn, it became an issue of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns. Legislation was introduced and passed  for lost tangible tax revenues that, in the case of Warwick, is projected to boost the state payment from $2.8 million to $3.1 million.

Overall, Dupuis said that the city is issuing about 40,000 tax bills, which is down from last year. He attributed the decline to a reduction of tangible bills resulting from the exemption.

Speaking of exemptions that are listed on tax bills, Dupuis said they total about $3.9 million in lost tax revenues. Seniors and veterans make up the largest portion of the 11,000 with exemptions. Taxpayers have until Dec. 15 to apply for exemptions.

And what if you can’t pay your taxes, even just the first quarter?

Dupuis’ advice is not to ignore the bill, but to contact tax collectors and work out a payment plan.

And who’s the city’s biggest taxpayer, the Warwick Mall?

No, not by a long shot, according to Dupuis.

The answer is Rhode Island Energy that owns a significant amount of property, transmission lines and infrastructure in the city. They pay in excess of $7.3 million in property taxes annually.