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New Shoreham manager releases FY2026 draft budget; council schedules review sessions
Summary
Town Manager Amy presented the town’s proposed FY2026 operating and capital budget totaling $20.1 million, a 5.1% increase year over year and a 3.75% proposed tax-levy increase; the council scheduled work sessions and public hearings ahead of adoption.
Town Manager Amy presented the town’s proposed fiscal year 2026 general fund operating and capital budget to the New Shoreham Town Council on Wednesday, disclosing a total package of $20,109,124 — a 5.1% increase over the current year and a proposed tax-levy increase of 3.75%.
Amy said the largest component of the increase is additional support for Block Island School and the second year of agreed job-classification and step-and-scale adjustments for town employees. The draft also restores incremental capital funding after several years of constrained capital investment and includes price increases for several maintenance and service contracts.
The town manager said the budget and supporting narratives are available on ClerkBase and that printed copies were provided to councilors. The council scheduled two budget work sessions next week: department expenditure reviews on the afternoon of March 26 and a community-support discussion in the evening on March 27 focused on health services, fire and rescue and other community partners. The council also set public hearings for April 2 (4 p.m.) and April 3 (7 p.m.), with final adoption targeted for April 9 and warrant adoption by April 23 ahead of the Financial Town Meeting on May 5.
Amy highlighted revenue trends: through February year-to-date hotel tax receipts were down about 9.2% from the prior year, cottage-tax (third-party short-term rental platforms) revenue was up about 26%, and meals tax was up roughly 7.3%. Staff noted that third-party platforms can produce faster and more accurate reporting for cottage/tour-provider tax collections.
Councilors and staff outlined the review and public-engagement schedule for budget hearings and invited residents and community groups to submit requests or comments to the town clerk so the council and staff can incorporate feedback in the review process.
The council will return to detailed budget review at the scheduled work sessions and will consider any warrant items and requests for town meeting.
