Voters Reject Proposed Budget

By Cynthia Drummond for BRVCA
June 6th 2023

RICHMOND – The proposed 2023-24 Richmond budget was rejected Monday in the town’s first-ever budget referendum.

The vote was 290 in favor and 371 opposed. Turnout was light, with 10.4% of the town’s 6,366 registered voters casting their ballots.

The proposed budget contained no property tax increase, and most departments would have been level-funded. But budget opponents, under the banner of the “Forgotten Taxpayers” political action committee, demanded more drastic cuts to provide additional tax relief.

Town Council President Mark Trimmer said he believed that switching from the annual Financial Town Meeting to an all-day referendum had contributed to the defeat.

“I think it was a big mistake for the Charter Review [commission] to put the budget up for a vote,” he said. “…I think they should have just kept it as a town meeting. We are a town. This isn’t Cranston.”

Trimmer also noted that budget opponents had not made any specific recommendations for cuts.

“It was really, really irresponsible to vote the budget down without any suggestions for cuts or any suggestions for modifications,” he said. “We have so much that’s in the budget structurally that you can’t cut and you can’t alter. There’s only probably, about 20% of the budget that you could actually do anything with at all. Our school [Chariho] payment is going to be due in just a month or two, and we found out yesterday [Monday] that Governor McKee cut school aid to Richmond and cut school aid to Newport, and so, we’re going to have to go to the voters to make up the difference.”

Legislators have not yet approved the 2023-24 state budget, but the spending plan does propose a reduction of $195,450 in transportation aid to Richmond.

Trimmer described members of the budget opponents’ group as aggressively attempting to persuade people to vote against the spending plan. A letter was sent to residents three days before the vote, urging them to reject the budget and Trimmer said opponents were also observed approaching voters in the parking lot of the Town Hall, which was the only polling place.

“They were so organized, and they were very aggressive with people in the parking lot,” he said. “I know an older woman who goes to my church who said the second she opened her door, they were on her, telling her to vote ‘no,’ and so, she asked them, ‘but it’s a zero tax increase. Why are you against the budget?’ And they told her there was all kinds of waste in it, and she says ‘well, where would you cut first?’ And they couldn’t tell her.”

Now What?

The town’s Home Rule Charter lays out two options after a budget is defeated: the town can amend the budget and hold a second referendum, or it can operate under the current budget.

Trimmer said he did not think there would be a second referendum.

“Most likely, we’re not going to put it up for a second vote,” he said. “Most likely, we’re going to stick with last year’s budget and make some ARPA [federal American Rescue Plan Act] fund reallocations to make up for the loss.”

A consequence of continuing to operate under the current budget would be the restoration of the fund balance, or surplus, to its current 16.2%. In an effort to help taxpayers, the council had reduced the fund balance to 15%, shaving $250,000 off the proposed budget.

“The drop in the fund balance, I suggested it because I thought it was a compromise,” Trimmer said.

With the fund balance back at 16.2%, property taxes would return to what they were before the council reduced the surplus to 15%.

Asked about the possibility of across-the-board budget cuts, Trimmer said it would be impossible to cut the police or public works departments.

“They’re making suggestions about cutting in the police department and the DPW. That’s insane,” he said. “The police department is minimally staffed, and our roads are in shambles.”

The Town Council will grapple with the fallout of the referendum at tonight’s meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. and will be available on Zoom.