Despite the calls from political leaders and some Overlook residents to curb the tax exemptions granted to Yeshiva Gedolah for its student housing, local officials have little say in who gets a break and who does not.

Tax exemptions are governed by state law, according to Assessor David Dietsch, who maintains the records of what’s taxable and what isn’t in Waterbury. The number of properties removed from the tax rolls as religious and charitable institutions is significant.

“Nobody seems to complain about Sacred Heart, or Holy Cross or SS Peter & Paul, and their campuses are worth some nice money,” Dietsch said.

Yeshiva Gedolah, an Orthodox Jewish religious school, applies for the same tax exemption as the more familiar Roman Catholic schools.

Alderman Dennis Odle raised the issue about the exemptions for the school’s boarding houses because the yeshiva failed to comply with city zoning ordinances, despite complaints and requests that the City Plan Department take some action.

Because the houses appear to be operating outside city rules, Odle argued, it wasn’t proper for the city to grant them tax exemptions.

Corporation Counsel Craig Sullivan said he is investigating the tax exemption issue and is waiting for a specific request from the Zoning Commission to investigate the use issue on the nine properties in the Overlook and Hillside neighborhoods.

Sullivan said he has not done enough research to be certain, but if the city does decide that the yeshiva cannot operate the boarding houses because of zoning violations, it could mean Waterbury will withdraw its tax exemption.

That decision would directly impact the yeshiva’s request for a tax exemption at 96 Hillside Ave.

“It could be that I’m going to make a determination that you cannot be using this for a charitable purpose because the law does not allow you to,” Sullivan said.

The yeshiva currently has 10 tax-exempt properties. One of them is a rabbi’s residence and is clearly entitled to a tax waiver under state law, Dietsch said.

For the nine dormitory houses, the future is less clear.

City regulations allow for boarding houses in two of its four types of residential zones with a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Four of the properties at issue are in those zones and six are not. None of the four that could operate with a permit have applied for one.

Other properties may lose their tax exemptions as city officials begin to scour their files researching the yeshiva case.

Dietsch said he’s going to begin investigating the Iglesia Pentecostal El Tabernaculo property on North Main Street. That site is on his list of properties paying no taxes that might be getting a bill next year.

The church bought that property in 2001 and there has been no activity there since. Its pastor died shortly after the purchase.

RA