Barrington council adopts lean FY2025–26 municipal budget after small capital amendment

The Barrington Town Council adopted the town—s proposed fiscal year 2025—6 budget, approving the manager—s lean spending plan as amended and directing the town manager to file the package with the committee on appropriations.

The vote came after roughly two hours of department-by-department review and discussion. Town Manager Hervey presented the budget as '2a pretty lean budget'2 that includes no new full-time positions, while flagging unavoidable cost pressures including resource-recovery disposal fees and an increase in liability insurance. He told the council the town—s municipal operating budget is proposed to increase 3.4% while the capital program is proposed to fall 10%; combined operating and capital would rise about 2.4% compared with the current year.

Why it matters: The council—s action determines what it forwards to the committee on appropriations and sets the framework for hearings with the school department and public outreach in March. Council members used the departmental walk-through to press managers on staffing, capital priorities and contingency plans for known costs such as the upcoming bond/borrowings tied to school and field projects.

Key decisions and department highlights

- Amendment to capital. The council amended the capital-outlay spreadsheet to restore parks-and-trails funding to $65,000 and reduce the DPW equipment request by $15,000 (DPW equipment line reduced from $460,000 to $445,000). Vice President Burrard moved the amendment and Councilor Casar seconded; the measure passed 5-0.

- Final adoption. After the amendment the council voted 5-0 to accept the proposed FY2025—6 municipal budget as presented and amended and to direct the town manager to submit it to the committee on appropriations.

- IT and cybersecurity. The budget funds a newly hired in-house IT systems manager (budgeted at a salary target of $67,000) and retains $40,000 for a local IT consultant to oversee migration off a third-party vendor and step up cybersecurity and training. Manager Hervey said the town pays roughly $7,800/month today to the existing vendor and expects net savings as the migration to Microsoft 365/OneDrive completes.

- Elections and transition to a Financial Town Referendum. The clerk—s office is budgeting for a Financial Town Referendum next year; the council heard planners expect three polling locations and an initial estimated contingency of about $15,000 to cover polling-place staffing and printing needs for a first-year FTR.

- Planning, building and resiliency. The planning department budget rises 5.45% to fund continued third-party building-official support (4Leaf) while a locally hired building official completes certification requirements. Councilors were told 4Leaf support will likely continue on a project basis for large developments even after staff certification.

- Senior services and capital request for an accessible bus. Recreation/senior staff reported frequent mechanical problems with the current senior van and a planning-board estimate for a replacement vehicle with wheelchair lift in the $120,000—60 range (the staff discussion referenced a range of potential funding sources including the Spencer Trust and a Masiello estate fund). Planning board and staff said alternative non-tax funding might be used before adding the full cost to the capital plan.

- DPW and pavement management. Public works described heavy, cyclical wear on vehicles and equipment from routine operations and winter work; the department has three dump trucks on order and is seeking replacement of a front-end loader (staff quoted a vendor estimate near $370,000). Council discussion also emphasized creating a sustained pavement-management line so routine crack sealing, striping and smaller resurfacing can extend service life and reduce the need for large reconstruction bonds.

- Refuse and tipping fees. Public works explained the town—s refuse contract and tipping arrangements with Rhode Island Resource Recovery. Current municipal tipping is about $63/ton and a commercial tier near $115/ton applies once the town exceeds a contract-cap threshold; the town—s refuse contract and market consolidation prompted concern about rising costs when the contract is rebid next year. The current refuse expenditure is in the $1.426 million range.

- Public safety and equipment. Fire and police budgets were described as largely flat except for contractual salary items and carry-forward obligations (for example, the fire department carries additional cost for a firefighter in a disability-retirement process). The fire chief said apparatus and equipment costs are rising sharply and that the department pursues federal and state grants to offset big-ticket replacements.

Votes at a glance

- Amendment: Restore parks-and-trails funding to $65,000 and reduce DPW equipment request by $15,000. Motion: Vice President Burrard; second: Councilor Casar. Vote: Cloutier (President) — Aye; Burrard (Vice President) — Aye; Cenkusak — Aye; Casar — Aye; O—Neil — Aye. Outcome: Approved, 5-0.

- Final action: Accept the FY2025—6 proposed municipal operating and capital budgets as presented and amended; direct town manager to submit to the committee on appropriations. Motion: President Cloutier; second: Vice President Burrard. Vote: Cloutier — Aye; Burrard — Aye; Cenkusak — Aye; Casar — Aye; O—Neil — Aye. Outcome: Approved, 5-0.

What comes next

The council and town manager said the school budget will be presented to the council and the committee on appropriations in early March; the town manager noted the municipal package may be adjusted after the school department finalizes its numbers. The committee on appropriations schedule—town and school presentations and review—was discussed and will guide public hearings and the town—s outreach before any final appropriations votes.

Reporting note: Quotes and attributions in this article come from the meeting transcript of the Feb. 26, 2025 Barrington Town Council budget workshop. Direct quotations are attributed to the speaker who made them during the meeting.