The West Warwick Town Council voted to send a resolution to state legislative leaders asking them to pass a law that would allow unpaid housing-code fines to be converted into municipal tax assessments.

Council member Al introduced the resolution and described how the proposed change would work: when a municipal court finds a property in violation of minimum-housing or housing-code standards and issues a fine, that fine would become part of the property tax assessment if it remains unpaid 90 days after issuance. "This gives us a way to work something out," Al said, arguing the mechanism would create leverage to get owners to complete repairs and would allow municipal enforcement to notify mortgage lenders that a lien could become part of the tax bill.

The resolution asks West Warwick’s state legislative delegation and other named officials to consider legislation mirroring a bill introduced last year; the motion includes an amendment replacing a named recipient on the distribution list. The transcript records that a bill on this subject was introduced on Jan. 26, 2024 and was referred to the House Municipal Government Committee. The speaker who introduced that bill was identified in the meeting as Jose Bautista.

Supporters said the conversion to a tax-assessment lien would create a "super lien" that survives foreclosure in many cases and would increase the municipal court’s authority to compel repairs. Al said municipalities that have tracked outstanding code fines can show significant amounts that are unlikely to be collected without a stronger enforcement tool.

Council members amended the resolution to replace a listed official no longer in the post with the current official named in the motion. The amended resolution was put to a vote and approved by voice vote. The resolution now will be sent to the legislative and executive officials listed in the document.

The council did not adopt ordinance language implementing the conversion; Al said the resolution is a request for enabling state legislation and that the town would return later to draft municipal code and enforcement procedures once legislative authority is available.

The meeting record notes the resolution and amendment passed by voice vote; no roll-call tally was provided in the transcript.