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Coventry council opens FY2026 budget review, refers proposals to finance committee
Summary
Town Manager Dan Perlow previewed a manager'recommended FY2026 budget that contrasts departmental requests with administrative adjustments; the council voted unanimously to refer the proposals to the Finance Committee for follow-up.
Town Manager Dan Perlow opened the council'level review of the proposed FY2026 budget, saying the packet before the council includes both department directors'requests and the manager'recommended adjustments that will be presented formally on April 25. Perlow said the administration prepared a second column in the budget to show where it differed from departments' submissions as a way "to give the council more time to see what the directors wanted and what director Sabeti and I, concluded on."
The manager and department directors walked council members through line items and a number of changes, including benefits adjustments and a reduction in a Johnson's Pond line item from $5,000 to $3,000 to cover gatekeeper utilities. Perlow also noted the council salary change reflecting a full year of pay for seven members, a roughly $4,000 incremental increase in that line. Several department heads highlighted department'specific requests and planned changes during the review.
Council members expressed questions on staffing and benefits across departments and sought additional detail on items including the town's handling of the Arnold Road solar revenue and health care waivers. After the presentations Councilman Pasquale moved and Councilman Capaldi seconded a motion to refer the budget proposals to the Finance Committee for more detailed review; the motion passed on a roll call vote of 6-0 (Council member Brown; Council member Pasquale; Council member Capaldi; Council member LeBlanc; Vice President Verducci; President Lima voting yes).
Why it matters: the referral creates a smaller working group to develop comparisons and detail for the council before the April 8 provisional vote. The finance committee was asked to return FTE counts by department, clarify new versus existing positions, review health care waiver practice among peer towns, and provide a one\-percent levy equivalent to help the council weigh tradeoffs.
The council scheduled more department budget presentations for the next session, including the school department, and the manager said the process would continue with the goal of giving the council time to consider options without rushing a final levy decision.
