The #MiddletownRI Town Council hears feedback on the proposed Fiscal 2024 budget earlier this week. The second public hearing on the preliminary $84.1 million figures is tonight at 6 in Town Hall, 350 East Main Road.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Matt Sheley at (401) 842-6543 or msheley@middletownri.com
FISCAL 2024 BUDGET GETS REVIEW
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (JULY 26, 2023) – The proposed $84.1 million budget for Fiscal 2024 got its first airing Monday night.
As part of the first public hearing, residents and businesspeople had a chance to comment on the preliminary figures, which represents a $3.2 million increase in spending.
Based on the early figures, the tax rate for Middletown resident is expected to be $12.62 per $1,000 of assessed value, or $303 more for the average resident homeowner. That’s compared to $13.54 per $1,000 for nonresidents, or $372 more for the average property owner not participating in the Tiered Residential Tax Program. For commercial property owners, the proposed tax rate is $18.72 per $1,000, an 87-cent jump from the current $17.85 per $1,000.
Due to lost state aid on the school side and projected need for an open space bond, the town got permission to exceed the state’s 4 percent cap by close to $931,000, or a little more than 20 cents on the total tax rate. A nickel on the tax rate equals approximately $180,000.
The second public hearing on the proposed budget is tonight at 6 from Town Hall.
“This is a very difficult budget year,” Town Administrator Shawn J. Brown said. “Unfortunately, they’re all difficult these days, but we’re doing our best to continue to balance the need for quality services without overburdening our taxpayers.”
Going into this budget season, town officials said it was going to be a challenging year. Not only were wages rising, but there was a significant loss of revenues and the cost of everything was up — from vehicles and road salt to benefits, office supplies and more.
Then, there’s continued work to smooth out the school budget, which town officials said reportedly was not running a deficit in Fiscal 2023. The decommissioning of the regional special education program that Middletown schools were part of were also a factor in the new costs as well.
The public hearings on the budget come about a month or two later than usual due to a variety of factors. Mainly, those were tied to the request to go over the state tax cap and continued work on a $190 million bond for a new middle-high school, the subject of a Nov. 7 special election.
Since the beginning of the budget preparation process, Brown said it was critical for Middletown to get its school spending under control without adversely impacting what happens in the classroom. If the Fiscal 2024 budget is approved, the School Department finance office would be merged into the town’s fiscal operations.
At the same time, he also stressed the need for the town to hold the line on spending without adversely impacting services.
He said the proposed budget before the council Monday night accomplished those goals, continuing forward progress for Middletown without reaching too much.
According to figures presented Monday night, the town would seek to go over the tax cap by about $446,000 for the loss in state educational aid from $8.5 million to $8.1 million. The remainder would be to cover close to $485,000 payment for open space bond payments.
All told, if the council okays the Fiscal 2024 budget, the School Department was expected to receive close to $46 million, including a $32.2 million contribution from the town. That contribution was up from close to $30 million in the Fiscal 2023 numbers — or a close to a 5.1 percent rise.
At the same time, the proposed sewer rate was expected to drop two cents in Fiscal 2024 to $17.19 per 1,000 gallons of use. However, because of an increase of forecasted usage going up by more than 2,200 gallons, the charge for the average home was expected to rise by about $37 in Fiscal 2024.
The preliminary budget town’s “Pay-As-You-Throw” curbside trash and recycling showed the enterprise program continued to work well. However, due to rising costs and tipping fees to get rid of garbage at the Central Landfill in Johnston, the proposed annual costs to use the program was expected to go up to $160, a $19 jump. If approved, it would be the first time the town increased the “Pay-As-You-Thrown” price in nine years.
As for the beach fees, town officials said the price of an annual parking pass was expected to rise to $80 for residents and $160 for nonresidents. The current seasonal parking fee of $70 for residents and $140 for nonresidents has been in place since Fiscal 2011 — or more than a decade.
Town officials said the surging labor costs and extension of hours the beaches were staffed was a contributing factor. Second and Third beaches are now opened from 8 am-6 pm daily through the Labor Day weekend.
Much of the discussion Monday night focused on schools and the proposed middle-high school bond and its projected impact on education.
Based on the numbers presented Monday night, if the bond is approved, taxpayers are expected to pay close to $685,000 in Fiscal 2024 for interest. The town administrator Brown said the taxes would not increase in Fiscal 2024 because those payments would be covered by not making excess payments for Other Post Employment Benefits. However, he was clear the town would continue to make its annual contribution to the OPEB benefits, just not extra funding.
Moving forward, Brown said the projected tax impact was expected to be $4.5 million in Fiscal 2025 and Fiscal 2026 and $6.8 million from Fiscal 2027 on.
To view the town presentation that was released Monday night, visit https://www.middletownri.com/DocumentCenter/View/9131/First-Public-Hearing-Presentation-FY2024--Budget online.
Document Link: https://www.middletownri.com/DocumentCenter/View/9139/NYCU-Fiscal-2024
####