PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Former Providence Democratic Mayor Joseph Paolino’s request for a tax break to build a hotel in the city hit a roadblock during a City Council Finance Committee meeting.
WPRI-TV reports that Councilman Luis Aponte announced during the meeting Thursday he is no longer sponsoring the proposal.
Aponte says he backed the plan when Paolino was planning on using the building for office space, but now he feels the former mayor should submit a new proposal since he switched his focus to a hotel.
The 48-room hotel and restaurant would take 34,000 square feet of space in the former Exchange Bank. Fiscal records show the tax break would save a company Paolino formed $904,000 in property taxes.
Neither Paolino nor his representatives attended the meeting. The committee took no action.
___
Information from: WPRI-TV, http://www.wpri.com
