WARREN TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
The Town Council of the Town of Warren, State of Rhode Island in Bristol County met in person, and live-streamed Tuesday the 14th day of April 2025, the meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM.
Present: Vice President Keri M. Cronin, Councilman John W. Hanley, Councilman Derrik L. Trombley, and Councilman Louis A. Rego.
Absent: Council President Joseph DePasquale
Agenda and Attachments: https://clerkshq.com/warren-ri
Led by Vice President Cronin
All Budget items may be discussed and acted upon
Vice President Cronin stated that President DePasquale would like to suggest using some funds from the Social Services donations account.
The discussion revolved around reallocating $10,000 from a restricted social services donations account to support Hope and Main instead of using it from the Grants and Contributions budget. Social Service Director, Anne-Marie Roy agreed to this change, and a motion was made to remove the $10,000 for Hope and Main from Grants and Contributions. There were questions about whether this would complicate Hope and Main's access to funding, but it was clarified that it would not pose any legal issues. The process involves making an additional motion after adjusting the budget.
Motion by Councilman Hanley , seconded by Councilman Rego to remove line item, Grants-Hope & Main in the amount of $ 10,000.00. The motion passed unanimously.
Motion by Councilman Hanley, seconded by Councilman Trombley to change the total of Grants & Contributions to $326,519.00. The motion passed unanimously.
Motion by Councilman Hanley, seconded by Councilman Trombley to allocate $10,000.00 from account #35-101-01-000 to Hope & Main for their food program. The motion passed unanimously.
Fire Chief Sousa spoke briefly and stated, at the last budget meeting, a round number allocation was approved as a placeholder. Town Manager Sullivan, Finance Director Burlingame, and himself, conducted further research on a Rescue Truck and concluded that remounting our current truck would be the best option. Following the council's recommendation, they decided to pursue leasing with payment terms of $80,000 per year for five years. If they sign the lease on July 1st of this year, the first payment will come from reserves, and they will need to budget for the remaining four payments in next year's capital expenses.
Regarding prepayment penalties, there is no penalty for prepayment; however, if they choose to prepay early, it would be at 103% of the balance. The total amount allocated to that line item will change from $103,000 to $85,000 as a precaution against potential rate increases over time.
Motion by Councilman Hanley, seconded by Councilman Trombley to adjust the line item for the Total Fire Safety from $103,000 to $85,000. The motion passed unanimously.
Motion by Councilman Trombley, seconded by Councilman Hanley to change the Total Equipment Replacement from $167,000.00 to $149,000.00. The motion passed unanimously.
Motion by Councilman Hanley, seconded by Councilman Trombley to set the sewer use fees to
$2,234,236.00. The motion passed unanimously.
Motion by Councilman Hanley, seconded by Councilman Trombley to approve the Total Tax Levy in the amount of $28,680,756.00. The motion passed unanimously.
Motion by Councilman Hanley, seconded by Councilman Trombley to approve the Tax Rate at 14.89 per thousand. The motion passed unanimously.
Motion by Councilman Hanley, seconded by Councilman Trombley to approve the Tax Rate Tangibles at 18.01. The motion passed unanimously.
Motion by Councilman Hanley, seconded by Councilman Trombley to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously.
Attest:
Sandrea J. Speroni, CMC
Town Clerk