General Assembly Notes

EG Legislators React To Chafee's Budget

Gov. Lincoln Chafee presented his budget last week. Now it's the General Assembly's turn.

EG Patch asked our state legislators what they thought of Gov. Lincoln Chafee's 2013 budget, presented on Jan. 16. Here are their responses: Rep. Anthony Giarrusso, R-Dist. 30: I haven't seen the nuts and bolts of Governor Chaffee's budget but I was inspired with what I heard and left the House Chamber with optimism. I was thrilled to hear that there were no proposals of tax or fee increases. I like the commitment to cut corporate income taxes and property taxes to make us more business friendly.  I like his commitment to the increase in state aid for the school funding formula. I also like the fact that he's paying more attention to our infrastructure; our roads and bridges are in desperate need of repairs and maintenance to bring us on …

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State Aid To EG Schools Higher In Coming Year, Officials Say

School officials tell the Town Council at a budget session Monday they will probably receive $2.2 million in state aid next year – up more than $400,000 over current year funding.

For years, East Greenwich elected officials have cried foul when it came to state funding allocations, arguing the town did not get its fair share. The state may have gotten the message. School officials told the Town Council Monday night at what was billed as a "pre-budget meeting," it looked very probable schools would receive $425,000 more than last year in state aid to education. EGSD Director of Administration Mary Ann Crawford said the figure should stay unchanged, unless state legislators decide to dismantle the education funding formula – unlikely since it only came about last year after several years of effort. That said, with built-in add-ons, the EGSD budget – by far the largest portion of the town's expenditures – will go up 3…

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Council, School Committee Start Budget Talks

December is a long way from June, when next year's budget is finalized at the Financial Town Meeting, but you've got to start somewhere.

Town Council and School Committee members sat down together Tuesday for the first time since the election brought two new members to the School Committee and everyone agreed that the spirit of collaboration that began two years ago and continued last year should be continued. It was the first of what both panels acknowledged would be numerous joint and independent sessions on the fiscal year 2013 budget, which will begin July 1, 2012. The School Committee, while an independent body, must live under the ultimate budget decisions of the Town Council, which by town charter must pass the budget. The School Committee submits a budget to the Council in March. The Council must pass a budget in May and voters have the opportunity to vote on the …

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Town Council Sets Tax Rate Of $20.14

Members also each spoke briefly about Henry Boezi, their colleague until his death Saturday.

The Town Council voted to set the tax rate for 2012 at $20.14 per $1,000 assessed property value at their meeting Monday night. The budget was set at the Financial Town Meeting June 11, but the tax role had to be certified. The town's budget for 2012 is $50.7 million, an increase of 3.4 percent. The tax rate is significantly higher than last year's – which was $17.49 per $1,000 of assessed value. That reflects lower property values more than higher taxes. The town's recent property revaluation showed an overall decrease in property values of about 10 percent. So, for taxes to remain exactly the same, the rate would still need to be about $2 higher than the 2012 rate. Without revaluation the levy would have been approximately $18.04 per …

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Fire District Adopts $5.5 Million Budget

In an unusual turn of events, the meeting had 55 registered voters in attendance, 1 more than the town's annual meeting last week.

More than 60 people turned out for the East Greenwich Fire District's annual meeting Tuesday night – 55 of them registered voters. That was a feat in itself considering two years ago people at the meeting were making phone calls to their neighbors to get the 30 voters needed to field a quorum. The Fire District's proposed budget of $5.5 million passed with a vote of a show of hands, with only one dissenter. Before the vote, one concern raised by voters was health care co-pays. Voters were told union members will be required to pay $3,000 toward a family plan in the next fiscal year. The other hot-button topic was the proposal – not part of next year's budget – to consider buying the parcel at Post Road and Cedar Avenue in order to build a…

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Bob Houghtaling

What We Pay For

It’s been said ‘you can’t legislate morality’ but, it’s my contention we do it all the time.

On both the local and national level the House and Senate are constantly creating laws that address sex, drugs, working conditions, religion, race, gender etc., etc. Presently, legislative bodies throughout the land are passing laws concerning medical marijuana, same sex marriage, separation of church and state issues and more. Here in Rhode Island, the death penalty, religious symbols (crosses/Christmas trees) and tightening up on tobacco laws are also salient concerns. Many of these measures have been fueled by views related to spiritual beliefs. Others involve equity and social justice. Sounds like morals and the legislative process are deeply entwined. Budgets adopted by the nation, states, cities and towns are other examples where …

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5 Things You Need To Know Today

Budget Session, Booster Scholarships & More

Five things you need to know about East Greenwich today, May 7.

Town Council Budget Work Session: The panel goes at it again tonight. If you have strong feelings about a particular program, or just want to see a bit of democracy in action, come to the Swift Community Center at 7:30 tonight (note the later time!). Donate Books For Library Sale: The Friends of the EG Free Library are gearing up for their spring book sale, which starts Friday evening. If you have books you would like to donate, drop them off at the library. Booster Club Scholarships: The EGHS Booster Club is awarding four $1,000 scholarships this school year, two to senior boy athletes and two to senior girl athletes. If you or someone you know may qualify for this scholarship, applications will be accepted until Wednesday, May 15. Don’t…

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Town Council Hears Requests For New Trucks, Main Street Flowers And Dogs

Final department head presentations May 7th at 7:30 p.m. in the Swift Community Center

For the second night in a row, the Town Council met Tuesday to work on the 2013 budget, first hearing requests for flowers for Main Street and for additional money for the EG Animal Protection League before reviewing the public works and IT budgets. Under the $50 million budget proposed by Town Manager Bill Sequino last month, residents would see a tax rate increase of between 2.4 percent to 2.8 percent. The new fiscal year begins July 1. Animal Protection League President Tammy Flanagan and League member Carl Hoyer asked the council to restore their annual allocation back to $25,000 from the $15,000 currently received. Flanagan said the volunteer 501C3 organization spends some $100,000 a year taking care of stray dogs and cats as well as…

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School, Town Officials Tussle Over How To Pay For Capital Improvements

What the School Committee sees as a capital improvement fund, the Town Council sees as a way to lower the increase in the school budget, and there lies the rub.

Town and school officials met Monday night to discuss the schools budget — in particular, the $400,000 budget decrease sought by the Council. School officials say they can reduce that number by $115,000 without cutting into programs. Town officials argue schools could reduce their expenditures at least another $100,000 by paying for their capital improvements out of their fund balance. When it comes budget time, the two panels bow to different gods. The Town Council wants to keep the tax rate low; the School Committee wants to uphold the integrity of the schools. With taxpayer-approved bond expenditures increasing the amount of budget money needed to pay debt service next fiscal year, as well as some contracted salary and benefits …

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