The Warren Town Council approved its preliminary town budget, comprising $26,498,309 in total tax levy and setting the tax rate at 18.01 per $1,000 of property value, representing an overall tax levy increase of 3.8 percent over last fiscal year and a 1.64 percent increase in the tax rate. The automobile tax rate decreased 23 percent from $26 per $1,000 in value to $20 per thousand.

Although there were not many alterations to the budget brought forth by Town Manager Kate Michaud throughout two budget workshops that took place over the past month, a few notable changes did occur. A majority of increases in the budget were driven by contractual obligations for salary increases, as well as preparations for the 2022 election, and a $40,000 total increase to fuel line items for police, fire and DPW considering the price of gas and diesel.

KMS resource officer to return
Following a story we covered last October about a grant running out that had funded a school resource officer at Kickemuit Middle School, the Warren Town Council approved a request from Michaud for $50,000 to help reinstate the position at the school next year.

The grant, provided by the Rhode Island Department of Education for the beginning of the 2019/20 school year, had paid for half the salary of the KMS resource officer. The Bristol Warren Regional School District had been paying for a quarter of the resource officer’s salary, and the Town of Warren covering the other quarter. When the grant funding ran out, the Bristol Warren Regional School Committee voted 7-2 in favor of ceasing funding for the position.

Michaud reported during the March 15 budget workshop that she and Superintendent Ana Riley had come to an agreement where Warren would fund $50,000 of the SRO’s salary moving forward, with the school district funding the remainder. The estimated total cost of the resource officer is between $84,500 and $97,568, depending on which insurance package the officer required.

Michaud also mentioned that the state was working on legislation to restart the grant program that had originally funded the resource officer, so the town may be able to recoup costs from that expense if that moves forward and a grant is awarded.

Fire department sees increase for fire marshal, EMS stipends
The Warren Fire Department received increases to its budget in order to boost the pay of the town’s fire marshal, and increase the amount of money paid to volunteer EMS technicians as compensation for their 12-hour shifts.

The council approved a $9,292 (19 percent) raise for the town’s fire marshal, which far exceeded the 2 percent raise recommended by Michaud. The decision came after lively discussion between Town Council Vice President Steve Calenda and Town Councilman Joseph DePasquale during the two workshops.

“If this position ever gets vacated, I don’t think we’re going to be able to get anybody in that office that’s going to be as qualified,” said DePasquale, arguing that the requested $49,682 from Michaud was not sufficient compensation for a fire marshal who also acted as a first responder among Warren’s mostly-volunteer department. “I think that retention is number one. And I'm not talking about the individual, though we're lucky to have that person, I'm talking about the position.”

Calenda was in favor of reorganizing and renaming the position to better align it with its duties and justify the pay increase, which wound up being the course of action taken by the department and approved by the council. The council approved $58,000 for the salary of the new “Fire Prevention Marshal/Training Coordinator” during the March 22 budget workshop.

The council then set in on renegotiating the compensation for EMS technicians among Warren’s volunteer department, who at the time of the budget hearings had been making $160 per 12-hour shift, which amounts to $12.50 an hour.

“I don’t want to buy a hamburger from somebody making more money than somebody coming to save our lives,” said DePasquale during the March 22 hearing.

The council bounced possible numbers back and forth before settling on raising the requested amount from $352,500 during last year’s budget to $509,040 for the year going forward — which amounts to a 44 percent increase and boosts each 12-hour shift to be worth $216 ($18 an hour).