North Smithfield council approves $349,680.89 in payments; councilors question reimbursements, trash‑cart leases and tree spending

The North Smithfield Town Council approved payment of bills for the period ending 02/03/2025 totaling $349,680.89 after brief discussion and questions from councilors.

Before the vote, councilors asked staff to explain recurring line items and apparent overages. A councilor asked why the town reimburses individuals for health care; a staff member said the payments are part of union contracts that provide an annual buyback for employees who do not take town insurance. The staff explanation: employees who decline town insurance receive an annual buyback of $500 for family coverage or $250 for single coverage to reimburse out‑of‑pocket costs during the fiscal year.

Councilors also questioned a $9,700 payment described as “Santander Bank recycling trash carts.” Staff said the trash carts are leased through a holding company (referred to in the meeting as Sawtender), and the town pays that vendor for the leased bins.

The council asked about a $33,000 payment to Stanley Tree Service. Greg Penney, Director of Public Works, said tree removal is an ongoing town expense and that the public‑works budget typically includes $50,000 for tree work; this fiscal year the line was reduced to $40,000 and the department has reached roughly $33,000 in work. “We normally get $50,000 in our budget for tree removal. This year, we have 40,000. I'm at the 33,000 mark,” Penney said. He clarified that homeowners are responsible for trees on private property; the town addresses trees that affect roadways.

Finance staff also explained other overbudget line items: dispatch overtime reflects staffing and manning shortages, and an apparent $3,000 excess in the police department clothing allowance appears to be a payroll posting error that staff said they will investigate.

After the discussion, an unnamed councilor moved to approve the bills and the motion passed on a roll call vote with all members recorded as voting yes.

Separately, the council approved tax abatements totaling $3,653.77 and supplemental assessments of $2,652.56. The tax collector explained that some abatements reflected corrected tangible personal‑property listings after businesses filed annual returns that omitted assets previously taxed; staff said adjustments were based on the businesses’ annual returns for the affected years.

Councilors asked for a visual grants summary at a future meeting and for the administration to provide follow‑up on the identified overages and accounting corrections.