[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6572915,"mediaKeyId","3119567-865de5695f8233d28e7b90da0910dc0d","parentId",3119567,"title","Committee reviews Planning Department budget; rent misallocation and defunded positions noted","audioSeconds",1437,"startMs",4529000,"endMs",5966000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3119567-865de5695f8233d28e7b90da0910dc0d&start=4529&end=5966","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3119567-865de5695f8233d28e7b90da0910dc0d/thumbnail_4529000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6572915/Providence-City/Providence-County/Rhode-Island/Committee-reviews-Planning-Department-budget-rent-misallocation-and-defunded-positions-noted","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6572915-dd84fadd0b7e0e964149955cae3a805f/orig.mp4?Expires=1771143172&Signature=j8RN0-bpN0U9AgCv4v8OauW3PPvx1myFHAvjirZy5knpFKT5IoaxW284T~7T3R1SvwtYMx3zpoizhaNvg13~aJMyjnOH5zOMWrE8cVBa576BJNNcnlRgsJ7ao171QqO0rB34zOEU62wKDXOEVll82Lc7VcjxepPmdokCT8Sag9bThT-jHYj7YRm4MCB36rIJvRaKCDJZMLMKSCyeSlGRPUpO1r2LRsiuty3XtXGb4DC40PTFuAt7cxjbTUNX4s8-7aPa73Kk1~joPZeHWTCYM2Xwun5AwB1Df~uayf98yQ-7l50dMZhjeqZUK3IPRCNKfn56d7mK1PVpjMSjK7mGAA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Providence City Council","date","2025-04-25T00:21:55.823Z","article","The Providence City Committee on Finance on April 24, 2025 considered the Planning Department’s proposed FY2026 operating budget. Department presenters told the committee Planning is not revenue-generating and that the department’s proposed budget reflects revised salary steps, benefits increases and corrections to prior-year cost allocations.

The department reported total salaries rising to about $1.7 million in FY2026 from approximately $1.6 million in FY2025. The increase was attributed to cost-of-living and step adjustments and to correcting an underbudgeted principal planner classification. Staff said one principal planner classification was adjusted upward to reflect the correct top-step salary in the nonunion grade table.

Budget materials show the Planning Department defunded at least two vacant positions while keeping other essential roles posted: a customer service associate previously partially grant-funded (yielding a line-item savings of about $20,000) and a defunded vacant senior real estate officer position (approximately $125,000). Committee members asked that the administration flag, in future materials, which positions are actually filled and which are defunded or vacant.

Committee members also discussed fixed and discretionary costs. The department’s primary fixed cost is building rent, cited at about $234,000; staff explained a portion of the apparent increase resulted from a reallocation correction after Housing and Human Services had been split from Planning in an earlier budget cycle. The department described discretionary costs that include loan-processing software, copier and plotter maintenance, postage for public notices, professional memberships and occasional consultant contracts for studies.

Members asked about the large professional-services line in recent years, which the department tied in part to work on the comprehensive plan and to state approval steps and supplemental design work once the plan is approved. Staff said a significant professional-services allocation in prior years reflected planning studies and the ongoing comprehensive-plan process; the department said it expects some carryover and additional design/printing costs tied to final plan publication and state review.

Council members asked about neighborhood-engagement capacity and whether the department would supplement a neighborhood liaison position with more community-engagement support as the incumbent advances. The department said it plans to seek additional community engagement capacity and noted that some planning salaries are grant- or program-funded, creating multi-department funding splits.

Deputy Planning Director Robert Hayes (identified during the meeting) and other planning staff answered procedural and line-item questions but no budget votes or formal committee actions were taken during this session. The committee asked staff to return with clarified staffing tables and corrected totals for services and supplies in preparation for the next budget hearing.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Providence Committee on Finance-Thursday, April 24, 2025-6:00 PM","oneSentenceSummary","The Providence Committee on Finance reviewed the Planning Department’s FY2026 budget on April 24, 2025, including a 8.5% overall budget increase largely driven by benefits, salary adjustments for principal planners, defunding of some vacant positions, and a correction to a rent allocation misallocation.","taxTitle","Providence City, Providence County, Rhode Island","taxId",3637,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6572920,"Finance committee reviews Inspections & Standards budget, flags staffing shortages and fee changes",3229,1281000,4510000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3119567-865de5695f8233d28e7b90da0910dc0d&start=1281&end=4510","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3119567-865de5695f8233d28e7b90da0910dc0d/thumbnail_1281000.jpg","/articles/6572920/Providence-City/Providence-County/Rhode-Island/Finance-committee-reviews-Inspections-Standards-budget-flags-staffing-shortages-and-fee-changes","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6572920-6e4013aa5f9da5b32d5901088651476d/orig.mp4?Expires=1771143172&Signature=OsvTDk7xmyPUlepHZcQoxdd51FHZLCsY-nl8FDCO5TJVbif9-MCFS66gFSD8ZXJdjAi0DD-gdNwmFKwOSFqcK7S9iq8uGq78ORE2EgDRW3C1v9WYPBD6Ml5JrG-y~0gID82u3-Lll8hg4y30IP8tW0m798sRgjvW4xuIknLevuT2VHws12klYmmRe6RIt2~JcGj3rthMbi8vsTeKdxh2LdakjLouXn-J12DLZLLeYbJa7BcHlLxUONe6B~qoaC4qwXoOSQymY-QEwreTTxQbL-MZVbHNRFxRCtOBpY8VZp4jPKaUW9d8ryv3MFQRB7LI9WxwaHKiaUwT2msiDIfBMg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Providence City Committee on Finance Chair Helen Anthony on April 24, 2025 heard a budget presentation from the Department of Inspections and Standards (DIS) showing the department is projected to generate just over $10 million in revenue in fiscal 2026 and is asking for personnel and cost adjustments to respond to enforcement and inspection demands.

The department’s presentation, included in the committee packet, said permitting fees (set by state statute) are the primary revenue source and that DIS is forecasting roughly $10 million in FY2026, consistent with recent trends. Department staff told the committee that year-to-year revenue rose from about $6.2 million in fiscal 2023 to $9.4 million in 2024, with year-to-date 2025 at approximately $10.3 million.

Committee members pressed the department on persistent staffing vacancies and recruitment challenges. The presentation lists FY2026 salaries for DIS at about $2.9 million, up from $2.7 million in FY2025. Department staff attributed the increase to a 2.75% cost-of-living adjustment and step increases; they also requested one new full-time equivalent (FTE) described in the budget package as a “floodplainting coordinator and plans examiner supervisor.” Staff said they expect to fill that role internally where possible, which would yield about $30,000 in savings if an existing employee is promoted and paid a stipend while moving into the new role.

Council members and staff described multiple vacant inspection and plans-exam positions. Department representatives said some mechanical and plumbing inspector roles are hard to fill because Rhode Island requires licensed inspectors for those trades, and pay in the private sector can be substantially higher. As the department put it, licensing and market pay for licensed trades “means we cannot recruit out of that” industry at current municipal rates.

Committee members also discussed DIS enforcement and tools for addressing vacant or unsafe properties. Staff said boarding and demolition are contracted out and can be costly; demolition work on properties can run into tens of thousands of dollars. The department reported using fines and lien authority to recover costs and said it places liens against properties where the city pays for cleanups or makes repairs.

The committee heard that the city’s targeted home-repair assistance tied to DIS enforcement has been substantially reduced. Staff stated the department previously completed work on roughly 74 properties and spent about $3 million on remediation tied to enforcement actions; that specific discretionary repair fund is no longer available in the department’s current resources. Members discussed using other grant sources and interdepartmental programs to assist homeowners who cannot afford repairs.

DIS staff told the committee they currently identify roughly 8% of work done without permits through active field inspections. The department and legal staff are reviewing the existing fee for unpermitted work: the budget discussion said the previous “catch-up” fee was $250 and that the department is pursuing an increase to $500 and a higher daily penalty to better align enforcement incentives with enforcement costs. Staff described the enforcement workflow: initial penalty calculations, escalation to a daily penalty (the department described using $500 per day as a proposed level), and referral to court after a set period (discussed at 30 days in the presentation).

Council members asked about operational changes the department is making to improve throughput. Presenters described process changes that reduced “drag” in permit processing in past years, implementation of digitization pilots, and planned counter-facing permit simplifications (prescriptive permit submittals for common homeowner work and faster counter permitting for small projects). The department also discussed a proposed move of DIS staff to a building shared with the Department of Public Works to improve coordination and public access for permit customers.

No formal votes on budget items or ordinance changes occurred in the committee during this presentation. Committee members requested additional detail in future budget iterations, including clearer line-item breakdowns of services versus supplies and confirmation of which fines and fee changes will be incorporated into the final revenue figures.

The committee moved on to the Planning Department budget after the DIS presentation.","Providence City’s finance committee reviewed the Department of Inspections and Standards proposed FY2026 budget on April 24, 2025, discussing an estimated $10 million in departmental revenue, persistent inspector vacancies tied to state licensing and pay, a proposed new position, and planned increases to fines for unpermitted work.","actionData","errors"]

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Committee reviews Planning Department budget; rent misallocation and defunded positions noted

Finance committee reviews Inspections & Standards budget, flags staffing shortages and fee changes