Budget
$150 Million School Construction Bond
- Largest capital investment in the town's history.
- Repeated avoidable delays and setbacks in project delivery.
- Failure to timely secure State of RI "Pay-As-You-Go" funding for school construction.
Revenue-Expenditure Structural Imbalance
- Expenditures are outpacing revenues, creating a structural gap in the town's budget.
- Approximately 73.2% of the Town's General Fund revenue is derived from property taxes.
- 21.28% tax levy increase since FY 2021.
- FY 2026: The residential tax levy rose by 5.42% - exceeding the state mandated 4% levy cap.
- FY 2027: The residential tax levy rose by 6.79% - again, exceeding the state mandated 4% cap.
Major Infrastructure
The town faces several major infrastructure and facility investment decisions that will have lasting implications for the Town’s financial health - one being the 2027 decommissioning of the Eldredge School.
Without a proactive vision and project plan in place by the end of this year, residents will be on the hook for upkeep expenses on a vacant building.
Beyond the school project, there are sustained needs for aging roads, municipal facilities, and public safety infrastructure that must be addressed to avoid compounding future costs.
