The town council, at a special session last Wednesday night, March 19, held its first meeting on the proposed Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget as submitted by Town Manager Brian Sullivan and the top members of the administration.

After some alterations and opting not to delve into a few departments in further detail, the council trimmed the initial draft levy total to $28,734,213, which still represents a 3.83 percent increase year-over-year and comes off the massive some six percent increase required in FY24-25.

Operations and levy included in FY24-25, Warren's budget for the current year is $27,675,297. The initial request of the departments this year was $28,918,250.

Last week, following the presentations of most directors, the council left as submitted the requests of the fire and parks & recreation departments as well as the senior center. Those three will be revisited at the next gathering set for Wednesday, March 26.

"It took a little bit, but we got our work done. And everything is accurate to the changes we made," said Town Council President Joseph DePasquale just before the March 19 meeting was adjourned.

The one-time explosion in the rate, which required special dispensation from the Rhode Island General Assembly, was necessitated by the town's share of lawsuit settled just prior to the budget season in 2024.

At the conclusion of last week's meeting, assessor Kristopher Leadem said, "We want to be under four." Chimed emphatically finance director David Burlingame, "We will be under four."

Entering the next budget meeting on March 26, the council will be working off a total of $19,585,631 for town operations or a 6.63 percent increase over the existing $18,367,309. The manager's draft was $19,759,667 prior to the changes made by the body last week.

Including just a $64,000 capital budget for FY25-26, the total town expenditures are as of now $19,649.631. Subtracting the estimated non-tax revenue, i.e. rescue services/mutual aid, of $6,451,714 and the net cost drops to $13,133,917.

Warren's allocation to the regional school district will see a significant spike, from $14,688,647 to $15,590,296 or an uptick of 6.14%. That is due mostly to a drop in the assistance for education from the state.

Of note, it does not as of yet include a significant amount of the town's share for the district-wide construction bond. That will begin in earnest next fiscal year.

"The budget is going along well, but we're not done," DePasquale emphasized after the meeting. "That will be done this Wednesday when it all comes together. But I would say it's pretty much where we want it to be."

From a personal perspective, DePasquale said he would have rather entered this fiscal year with a lower starting point after his suggestion of trimming some $383,000 last budget season was not backed by the previous incarnation of the council.

"I think we would be in a better position year-over-year if we had made those cuts," he continued. "We would likely have a better idea of where lean was lean."

There were various reasons why the three of the departments were not fully feted last week.

For parks & rec, the key issue is the salary request of the director, Tara Thibaudeau, who submitted a figure of $60,000. The part-time position paid $25,697 last year. Sullivan's draft included a slight raise to $26,211. The council suggested an increase to $30,000.

Thibaudeau and the council agreed the director would take the ensuing week to review the position and its requirements.

"Although times are tough we want to keep her happy," DePasquale said of the situation. "Tara works very hard, but it's a part-time job and it's going to stay a part-time job. We want to give her a pay raise, but I don't think we had enough information to make that decision."

As for the fire department, the council asked Chief James Sousa to also review his submissions on employee and apparatus costs. DePasquale said the body needs to know what expenditures are mandated immediately and what can be done in the future.

"We need to have a sharper point on the pencil considering the tough financial position we're in," DePasquale added.

Lastly, the senior center budget was not discussed in detail because director Kyra Little was unable to attend the meeting.

The president, without prompting, wanted each of the directors to know the council is appreciative of their efforts this budget season.

"All of our department heads are doing a great job. They're doing what we asked of them, which was to cut back for a second year in a row," DePasquale said. "We just need to figure out if those cutbacks need to be adjusted, if they're too much or not enough."