April 2, 2025
Proposed FY26 Budget
MAYOR’S BUDGET ADDRESS TO THE CITY COUNCIL,
APRIL 1, 2025
This
evening, I am, once again, very proud to report that the City of Cranston is
thriving and is fiscally strong.
That is
so because, for the past four years, I am making sure that, with support of the
city council, Cranston is a safe city for our residents and businesses.
Our
economic development efforts are paying off with new businesses continuing to
come into our city.
We are
bullish on investing in infrastructure to further enhance the quality of life
of our residents. In the budget that I
propose, we will strategically invest in our roads and bridges, improve our
small business environment by revitalize our neighborhoods in the likes of our
wonderful Knightsville streetscape; finally begin to invest in long-term
stormwater projects; build new and improved recreational facilities; provide
funding for our neglected fire station facilities; and begin to deliver to the taxpayers, a
massive investment in our school building facilities.
Collectively,
these investments will make Cranston a better city for our children and all
residents while delivering exceptional services.
Fiscally,
I found early in my administration, that Cranston suffered from significant financial
deficiencies that needed to be addressed.
When I
took office, we were faced with a structural spending deficit and unfunded
reserves of millions of dollars. At the
same time, we were challenged by the devastating impacts of the COVID pandemic.
You
will recall that I faced these challenges head on.
Early on, I trimmed
city government by implementing an unfortunate, but necessary workforce
reduction of twenty-four positions.
We have since seen our community emerge from
these difficulties. The people of
Cranston have since re-engaged, our financial health has now rebound, and
community pride is soaring.
However, with this
success, it is important to be reminded that Cranston no longer qualifies as a
“Distressed Community.” This is a double-edge sword – we lost out on these
significant funds because our city and its residents have experienced fiscal
improvement.
This, alone, has resulted
in a loss of over $2.7 million of state-aid to the
city. On top of that, the State has
reduced their contribution in PILOT funds (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) to
Cranston of over $1.6 million in the past three years.
Like
all municipalities, we were fortunate to have American Rescue Plan funds to
help us during some of the nation’s darkest times. I recognized that those
funds were to be used only as a bridge to see us out of the economic downturn
of Covid.
Over
the past few years, I planned ahead and pulled us out of the city’s dependence
on those one-time funds. We did this
with only a nominal tax burden on our taxpayers over the years.
I
believe that you will agree that I made the tough decisions – but that they
were also the right decisions for our residents.
Our
bond rating agencies agree in that our most recent ratings were reaffirmed at
AA+ by Fitch and similar ratings by Moody’s and Standards and Poors.
Although
we are in fiscally sound shape, we still have significant financial challenges.
I suppose that we always will.
It is
my job, the job of the city council and that of the school district to still
deliver excellence while not overburdening our residential and business
taxpayers.
Today,
the greatest fiscal challenge that we face is: Inadequate State funding of our schools - especially in light of unfunded State
mandates.
We are also
facing rising employee health and pension costs.
As a
city, we must also find ways to fund tens of millions of dollars to pay for the
new schools and school facility improvements that our voters overwhelmingly approved
in recent years.
The
essence of the budget that I offer you this evening is simple: The
budget focuses on funding for our schools and our children. Funding levels on the city side are only to maintain
the essential and excellent city services that our residents expect.
You
will see that this is a no-frills budget from the city side. The city side of the budget comprises approximately
45% of the entire city budget.
The
bulk of the budget, over 55%, resides on the side of the School
Department.
The city’s
operating budget that I present to you funds no new costly initiatives.
This is
an austere budget from the city side that, frankly, our department heads won’t
be happy with.
I am
not pleased to have to limit spending to our city departments, but I recognize
the necessity of devoting all available resources to our schools and the
children of this city.
As city
leaders, we need to do this as cost-effective and affordable to our taxpayers
as possible.
As I mentioned, we are committed to continue
delivering top services for our citizens, including ongoing support for our
public safety departments, our parks and recreation programs, and much more.
We will do this despite challenging times,
inflationary factors, and ever-increasing pressures to spend more.
This budget reflects the difficult decisions
necessary for our long-term financial health.
On the city side, I will control spending and
ask that we do the same on school side of the budget. Together, we will make Cranston stronger and
better.
All city department heads will be directed to
manage their budgets while meeting my expected level of services to our
taxpayers.
Included in this budget, the city will, of
course, fulfill contractual obligations and step increases for city employees.
This budget provides for fully funding our required
annual pension and Other Post Retirement Contributions.
In support of our
schools, I am proposing to increase the city’s contribution to the school
department by nearly $2.3 million - $2,279,000 to be exact. This amount is nearly unprecedented and
exceeds all increases provided to the schools in fifteen years.
This $2.3 million,
is in addition to $1 million that I recently provided to our schools using one-time
ARPA funds.
This funding is independent from State School
Aid that is currently slated to increase by approximately $5.1 million, or
6.73%, boosting it from approximately $75.6 million to $80.7 million.
This support for our schools and city
infrastructure represents essential strategic investment for the future
generations of Cranston. This budget
delivers all the funds while ensuring reliable and affordable city services to
our residents.
The overall budget that I present to you is
approximately $338.1 million.
As I did not
propose a tax levy increase last year, I propose a modest 2.57% tax rate
increase on residential properties and a proportionate increase on commercial
properties. This increase is to largely
support our schools this coming year.
If adopted as proposed, the residential tax
rate will be $13.96 per thousand, slightly up from this year’s rate of $13.61. The
commercial and industrial property rate will be $20.94 versus the current rate
of $20.42.
For example, the
average home value in Cranston is $347,600.
This raise would equate to a $122 tax increase.
This budget increases
the tax levy 3% from this year’s budget.
We need to be reminded that the City Charter mandates that tax increases
cannot exceed 3% of the prior year levy.
As we are well
aware, our neighboring communities are experiencing unprecedented fiscal
difficulties resulting in much higher tax increases. I can assure you that through the prudent
financial measures of my administration and basic support of the city council throughout
the years, our city finances are strong and sustainable. We all should be proud of that fact.
I do hope, however,
that we all recognize the need to fund our schools as much as we can. That’s what this budget is about.
This budget I present tonight will enable us
to address the financial needs of our city while ensuring the delivery of
essential services.
We will persist in our commitment to serve
our constituents effectively.
This is a worthy financial strategy for our
city that merits your support.
I am dedicated to steering Cranston in a
positive direction without imposing excessive costs on taxpayers.
We will invest in our infrastructure and
enhance the visual appeal of our business districts to encourage visitors to
shop, dine, and engage with our local businesses. I will continue to attract larger scale
businesses to our city.
This budget underscores my dedication to
public safety with our police and fire departments.
With this plan, we will ensure our streets
and neighborhoods remain safe.
The community pride we witness daily is
evident. As leaders of our city, we can
share in that pride in our financial support of our unique quality of life here
in our city. We can also continue to
support civic events such as Cranston’s parades, fairs, and festivals.
This budget will continue to support these
community activities.
I extend my gratitude to those city employees
that, even in the cold of winter, clear our streets - and to
those who maintain our infrastructure during the heat of summer.
Importantly, I appreciate all who serve and
assist our taxpayers and residents every day as they engage with local
government at City Hall and various the various offices throughout the city –
and certainly to our police and fire personnel.
I have the privilege of witnessing firsthand
how you make this city work for our residents.
Our aim in crafting this budget is to ensure that
the city puts our schools first, to provide essential services and to safeguard
our long-term financial health.
This budget is my best effort to keep
Cranston affordable for all taxpayers, families, and businesses.
I believe that this
budget properly balances the needs of our schools where we continue to invest
in our children.
As always - One Cranston, One Heartbeat