STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, COUNTY OF NEWPORT

The Town Council of the Town of Tiverton, County and State aforesaid held a Special Council Meeting on

Saturday, February 26, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. via a Virtual Meeting viewable at Tiverton Videos on YouTube.

                A. Overall Discussion, Review, and Potential Preliminary Votes on FY 2022/2023 Budget, including
                    individual line items as previously submitted by Town Administrator.  

Including not limited to:
a. Police Salary

b. Fire Department
c. Library Services

d. Parks and Recreation

e. Legal Services
f. Town Clerk

Clerk Chabot reviewed the Town Clerk’s Office budget and commented on the new lease payment for the postage meter and the hiring of the canvassing clerk replacement. For the Board of Canvassing budget, $21,000 was added under the Elections (Restricted) account for projected FY23 Election expenses. For the Financial Town Referendum budget, this line item is now included in the Elections (Restricted) account. For the Probate Court budget, Clerk Chabot requested a modest increase for the Probate Judge stipend whose workload has increased over the last few years without an increase in 15 years.

For Legal Services, Solicitor Marcello presented his budget request for Solicitor and Land Use Services, reviewing hourly rates and hours per month. He commented that Litigation did not change as it is on an as-needed basis. Administrator Cotta commented on increases for Prosecutions and Labor Counsel.

For Library Services, Director Catherine Damiani presented the Tiverton Public Library FY23 Budget as prepared by the Library Board of Trustees Budget Subcommittee and Director Damiani. She reviewed the library’s mission and vision. She gave a recap of Fiscal Year 2022 statistics, organization, staffing, financial information, property repairs & maintenance and capital expenses. She reviewed the Fiscal Year 2023 requested budget, containing an increase in Operating expenses and a decrease in salary expenses for a net 2% increase of $12,000. Board of Trustees Chair Carol Herrmann and Treasurer Sanford Mantell commented on the great work being done by Director Damiani and her staff and fully support this budget.

For Police Salary, Chief Jones provided an updated Police Department budget with each line item broken down per position with comparison to the current budget. He provided a summary document reviewing the current breakdown of contract positions (CBA) and the proposed position breakdown for Fiscal Year 2023, including the impact from the COPS Grant. He answered Council questions on the various positions/staffing, the IBPO contract increase in FY 2022, SRO, staffing challenges and COPS Grant funding.

For Fire Department, Chief Reimels presented the Fire Department budget, including Salaries (raise in January) and Operating Expenses. He answered Council questions on various positions, staffing challenges, Safer Grant impact, Overtime, Deputy Chief position, required training and replacing outdated protective gear.

For Parks and Recreation, Recreation Chair Stuart Gilfillen reviewed the Beaches, Summer Recreation and Community Events. Beaches include a new line item Credit Card processing, similar to how other towns handle collecting beach parking fees. Summer Recreation includes a new line item for an online registration system.  There is potential that this system could be used for mooring fees. Community events are the previous Winter Events (Trunk & Treat and tree lighting), plus Summer Concert series, Tiverton Days parade and possibly fireworks ($25K). It includes an Event Coordinator. He answered various questions from the Council. Council consensus is to eliminate Event Coordinator and reduce Community Events to $10K.

                B. Planning for future FY 2022/2023 Budget Reviews

Special Meetings are scheduled for Saturday, March 5, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. and on Tuesday, March 8, 2022 at 6:00 p.m.