South Kingstown managers propose FY25–26 budget with $9.04 tax rate; new high school debt drives levy increase

Town Manager Jim Manny and Finance Director Brian Sylvia presented the Town of South Kingstown’s proposed municipal side of the fiscal year 2025–26 budget on March 3, saying the draft would result in a combined town and school tax rate of $9.04 per $1,000 of assessed value if the council adopts the full proposal.

Manny said the townwide proposed tax levy is $79,333,000, an increase of $2,587,000 (3.37 percent) from last year, and Sylvia said the school requirement portion of the levy remains the largest share of the total. Brian Sylvia told the council the town’s estimated net assessed value rose substantially after the most recent revaluation, which is one reason the headline tax rate is lower than recent years even as the levy increases.

The budget packet attributes roughly 45 percent of this year’s levy increase to new debt service for the town’s new high school. Sylvia said debt service overall is projected to increase by about $1.8 million; of that amount roughly $1.1 million will be funded by the tax levy with about $682,000 coming from the debt-service fund balance.

Manny and Sylvia walked the council through the proposed calendar and legal deadlines the town must meet before final adoption, including two public hearings scheduled in April and dates for petition submissions and referendum procedures. Sylvia also noted the town’s fund balance position: the audited 2024 fund balance represented 18.46 percent of operating revenues, and the manager’s projections show a possible year-end surplus that could moderate how much fund balance the town chooses to use in 2026.

On personnel and departmental budgets, Manny and Sylvia highlighted modest FTE changes across departments and singled out debt service, employee wages and benefits, and enterprise fund transfers as key drivers of change. The packet shows the town’s general fund personnel costs rising to about 76.8 percent of the general fund budget, up slightly from the previous year.

The presentation also flagged the legal limit on levy increases: Rhode Island’s 4 percent cap is an option theoretically available to the town; Sylvia said choosing that option would raise an additional $427,000 and push the rate to $9.09.

Why it matters: The town-level budget sets service levels and staffing for municipal departments and determines how much property owners will pay next fiscal year. The high school construction borrowing is shaping debt service obligations and is the single largest driver of the proposed levy increase in the manager’s draft.

What’s next: The council will continue work sessions, hold the required public hearings in April, accept petition challenges per charter deadlines and ultimately adopt a preliminary and final budget before the fiscal year begins July 1.