The Smithfield Town Council on Oct. 7 held a public hearing and approved amendments to Chapter 3-21 (Taxation) that update local exemptions to reflect state law and to add a new tax credit for persons with paraplegia.

Chris Lehi, Smithfield's tax assessor, explained three primary changes: raising the local veterans' exemption from the code's listed $4,000 to $10,000 to match local practice and state statute; adding a paraplegic tax credit to conform to newly passed state legislation (the town's proposed credit was described as $250 to match disability credits); and codifying a local property tax exemption for Special Olympics Rhode Island limited to the specific property they currently own.

A councilor thanked Lehi for the paraplegic provision but noted the state language requires the owner to be paraplegic and lamented that some paraplegic children living with parents who own property would not qualify under current rules. Lehi explained that most local exemptions require owner-occupancy and residency, and that changing that would require state-level adjustments.

After closing the public hearing, the council voted in favor of the ordinance changes as presented; staff said the changes would simply codify existing practice for Special Olympics property and align local law with state statutes and recent legislation.