Council Makes More Budget Changes at Public Hearing

By Cynthia Drummond for BRVCA

Thursday April 10th 2025

RICHMOND – Only a handful of residents participated in the first of two public hearings on the municipal budget.

The lack of engagement was unexpected, since several residents had asked to provide input at a previous budget workshop in which comments were not invited.

“I was expecting more,” Town Council President Samantha Wilcox said Thursday. “However, I still think we had good attendance and wonderful feedback from those who chose to participate.”

Wednesday’s public hearing followed two previous   workshops, during which the council made further reductions to the Fiscal Year 2026 budget.

Wilcox began the hearing with a summary of the reductions.

The major changes include reducing the capital improvement plan by $200,000 and making staffing changes.

“We then factored in the budget prior initiatives that we already discussed,” she said. “For example, adding a grant writer to be hired as a contractor. We’re also planning to combine the recreation and human services departments  for efficiency and long term planning. The property across the street is in progress, now that the rotary’s been completed.”

At the second workshop, the council worked with Police Chief Elwood Johnson and Department of Public Works Director Gary Robar to make further reductions.

Comments from the public at Wednesday’s hearing focused on the need to maintain and improve the town’s infrastructure, especially the town’s roads, staff salaries, which are among the lowest in the state, and the need for a new playground at Richmond Elementary School, where the existing playground was deemed unsafe and removed.

Additional Changes

When the public hearing closed, Wilcox, who represents the Town Council on the 250th Semi Quincentennial Commission, proposed adding $2,500 to the budget for commission expenses.

Councilor Jim Palmisciano asked how the funds would be spent, and Wilcox replied that the money would probably be allocated to creating memorabilia to mark the 250th anniversary, on July 4, 2026, of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Roads, Property Taxes, and Town Staff

Council members discussed whether to eliminate the property tax reduction that the council had agreed on at the previous budget workshop and allocate that money to road repairs.

Wilcox said the impact of the tax reduction would be minimal, amounting to about $63.00 per year for the average Richmond home. The impact of fixing the town’s roads, on the other hand, would be considerable.

“I really think that is a small amount of savings, but it would really add up greatly for our town, especially for the initiatives we have, the roads we want to pave, and if we choose to allocate the funds to roads and playgrounds, we can better our community,” she said.

Council members agreed that investing in roads was a priority. Palmisciano said residents had told him they wanted the town’s roads repaired.

“I would be inclined to have a similar approach,” he said. We really need to get in front of this, and also, if we’re going to do this, we need to be a lot more transparent, and we need to be strategic.”

Council Vice President Mark Reynolds asked how much the town would save by keeping the property tax rate level.

Finance Director Danielle Andrews replied that the saving would be $219,000.

Reynolds noted that if that money were to be added to the $317,000 already set aside for roadwork, the town would have about $500,000 for roads.

Councilors approved the motion to keep property taxes at their current level and allocate the funds to roadwork.

Councilor Dan Madnick noted that increasing the salaries of town staff should also be considered in order to retain employees, seven of whom have left recently for jobs in other towns.

A 2025 salary survey conducted by the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns shows Richmond at or near the lowest pay rates in the state.

Madnick proposed adding more funds to the town’s contingency, to give salary increases to staff over and above the 3% they will receive under the new budget.

The council voted to add $21,300 to the contingency. The funds will be dispersed as merit increases, at the discretion of the Town Administrator, and according to job descriptions and salary scales in other towns.

The Playground

The council mulled the situation with the Richmond Elementary School playground, which was condemned and recently removed. During the public hearing, a parent asked the council to consider contributing to a new playground, which will be especially important when children from the closed Hope Valley Elementary School transfer to Richmond.

Members agreed to consider a contribution, depending on what action the School Committee takes.

Other Business

The council approved a request from Town Administrator Karen Pinch to award the contract for furnaces at the Department of Public Works buildings to Automatic Controls Ltd., for $54,627.

A request from Pinch to approve a contract to GZA Environmental for the continued monitoring of the landfill and a request from Town Planner Talia Jalette to enter into an agreement with the New England Environmental Finance Center were also approved.

The next and final public budget hearing will take place on May 6.