EAST PROVIDENCE — The City Council held another in what will become a series of workshops Wednesday night, Oct. 2, on the $165.8 million Fiscal Year 2019-20 budget proposal submitted by Mayor Bob DaSilva.

The body gathered for over four hours, going through more than a dozen divisions, including nine alone in the Department of Public Works, as well as human resources, water, planning/economic development, recreation, the carousel and the libraries.

At least another similar session is planned for Thursday night, Oct. 3, with another potentially to be held Friday, Oct. 4, in the build up for a second and final public hearing on the budget late next week.

Emphasis once again should be made that none of the changes suggested were binding. Any alterations to the budget only become official upon a formal vote at the future public hearing.

The members were a little more delicate with their reductions Wednesday and also took pains to establish the cuts were being made to the total sum allotted for each department, not necessarily from particular line items. That’s because 90 days into the budget year the mayor and/or the department directors can reconfigure line items in their allocations to their satisfaction without council input or consent.

The tone of the workshop, as well, was a bit less contentious than the previous one held last week where the council took a fine-tipped pen to the mayor’s office allocation.

Wednesday, the council, as it did prior, opted to reduce the non-contractual two percent pay increase slated for DPW Director Steve Coutu, trimming a roughly $2,300 raise.

Mr. Coutu was the busiest of the directors who engaged with the council for obvious reasons, though the only significant reduction from Public Works came with a drop of $44,000 in the public buildings division. Instead of $150,000 suggested from a repair line item it fell to $106,000, which is the average of the last several years.

Mr. Coutu also explained an increase in total expenses by $248,000 in highway/parks was mostly due to the transition of three employees at Pierce Field from recreation to the division under the mayor’s reorganization plan.

Of note as well, now that operation of the Pierce complex is under his auspices, Mr. Coutu was asked by At-Large Councilor Bob Rodericks to expedite upgrades to the baseball field. The mayor said replacement of the backstop fencing is expected to be completed in the fall. Improvements to the scoreboard and public address system are in the works, though not finalized.

One point of interest from a review of the recreation budget, provided by director Diane Sullivan, had to do with the annual July 3 fireworks display at Pierce. She requested $15,000 for the evening, up some $5,000, because of the competitiveness in booking pyrotechnics companies around the Fourth of July.

No cuts were made to the libraries, in fact, the efforts of those in the department were lauded by both Mr. Rodericks and Ward 1 rep/council president Bobby Britto.

In his remarks, Director of Library Services Michael Carlozzi informed the council his department receives a 22 percent reimbursement from the state on every dollar it spends, but is realized late because the city’s fiscal year is not aligned with that of the state.

Mr. Carlozzi stressed the libraries are just now back to pre-Budget Commission levels of 2011 and East Providence is the only library system in the state “deep in the negatives” adjusted for inflation. He added, if the city’s libraries had been funded at a reasonable level over the last eight years, the system would have received $350,000 more from state.

Mr. Carlozzi said some of the increases in his budget were due to bringing a custodian, at a cost of $44,000 plus benefits, under the department’s auspices, a position which is now a reimbursable expense by the state.

In addition, proposed raises for librarians were included in his proposal. He claimed librarians around the state average $18.50 per hour, topping out at an average of $21. Most in city make $18. Mr. Carlozzi said the libraries board of trustees has urged him to get city librarians to at least the state average.

Over the objection of the mayor and director Victor Santos the council made a number of cuts to HR.

It proposed trimming $10,000 in licenses and permits, which also includes monies for advertising, from the initial $20,000. The rationale was that although $15,000 was allotted during the current fiscal year only about $7,000 will be spent this fiscal year.

It also suggested cutting the professional development line from $10,000 to $6,000. The mayor, in arguing his case to little apparent avail, said $6,000 is earmarked for employee certification and $3,000 for planned customer service training. Licenses and permits was dropped from $20,000 to $10,000 and all $1,500 was stripped from travel.

New planning/economic development director Bill Fazioli, hired just the week before, made the presentation for his department. In the end, only just over $15,000 was cut from planning in the medical expenses line.

While some members of the council suggested potentially not filling an existing vacancy, “Planner 4,” Mr. Fazioli and the mayor said the department was actually understaffed, adding it was imperative for planning to have its full complement of employees to fulfill its mission. Ward 3 Councilor Nate Cahoon concurred, noting, among important aspects of the position, its focus would be assisting with an update of the city’s five-year comprehensive plan.

The Thursday, Oct. 3, workshop is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in City Hall.