Stonington to vote on capping Portuguese Holy Ghost Society's property taxes

Stonington ― Voters at Monday’s town meeting will be asked to cap the annual property taxes of the Portuguese Holy Ghost Society property at 26 Main St. in the borough at $7,500 a year for the next five years.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at Stonington High School. Also on the agenda is a proposed traffic and parking ordinance that residents have turned down twice before.

The property is currently assessed at $873,100, which means the society’s current tax bill is $15,235.

The ordinance for the tax break states that the Portuguese Holy Ghost Society has been an integral part of the town’s heritage and history for the past 95 years, and the property is of historical and architectural significance.

It further points out the level of taxation threatens the society’s ability to maintain the structure, possibly necessitating its demolition or renovation.

State law allows municipalities to provide tax abatements for properties with historical or architectural merit if the level of taxation threatens the structure’s existence.

The proposed abatement would fix the tax bill at $7,500 a year from Oct. 1, 2025, through Oct. 1, 2029. At that point, then town would revisit the abatement. The abatements do not apply to any improvements made to the property after 2010.

The abatement would also end if the society sold the property, changed its use or did not maintain its historical and architectural features.