Cranston City Council approves tax abatements, parking ordinances, labor agreement and appointments

The Cranston City Council on Aug. 25 approved a block of finance and ordinance items including real-estate and tangible tax abatements, two parking-related ordinance amendments, a parking-lot lease with a local VFW post and an ordinance ratifying a school committee collective bargaining agreement for school bus drivers. The council also approved three personnel appointments; one reappointment received a single dissenting vote.

Why it matters: The votes finalize routine tax-abatement requests, enact local parking restrictions and carry out a school‑committee labor agreement that the council ratified by ordinance. The actions affect municipal revenue, property owners, neighborhood parking rules and the school district’s labor terms, and they fill key volunteer posts on local boards.

Most important actions and outcomes - Real-estate tax abatements (resolution): Approved unanimously. The finance committee recommended approval. - Tangible tax abatements (resolution): Approved unanimously. The finance committee recommended approval. - Ordinance O7-25-03: Ratifying the School Committee’s collective bargaining agreement with Rhode Island Laborers, District Council 13 — Bus Drivers unit: Approved (ordinance adoption). The finance committee recommended passage. - Ordinance O7-25-07: Ratifying a parking-lot lease between the City of Cranston and VFW Post 2396, doing business as Tabor Franke Post: Approved (lease ratified). - Ordinance O7-25-04: Amendment to Title 10, Chapter 32, Section 22.25 of the City of Cranston Code of Ordinances (no parking of commercial vehicles): Approved (ordinance adoption). The ordinance committee heard from the traffic engineer and recommended approval. - Ordinance O7-25-05: Amendment to Title 10, Chapter 32, Section 040 (no parking on certain streets): Approved (ordinance adoption). The city traffic engineer flagged a potential conflict with an existing two-hour parking restriction; Director Moretti recommended a deletion/amendment to resolve the conflict at a subsequent meeting. - Appointments: Carol Cooney to the Tax Assessment Board of Review (alternate No. 3, term to 01/05/2026) — approved. Justin McCarthy to the Tax Assessment Board of Review (alternate No. 1, term to 01/28/2026) — approved. Reappointment of Dean Verdecakis to the Zoning Board of Review (term 10/05/2025–10/05/2030) — approved; roll call shows one "No" vote from Councilman Andujar.

How the votes were recorded: The clerk took roll calls for each formal vote. For the items listed above the roll-call votes were recorded as affirmative by Councilman Campopiano, Councilman Bonanno, Councilwoman Graziano, Councilwoman Heroyan, Councilman Ritz, Councilman Traficante, Council vice president Wall and Council president Marino on each matter; the reappointment of Dean Verdecakis recorded one No from Councilman Andujar and Yes votes from the other members.

Process and committee context: The finance committee recommended the tax abatements and the labor-agreement ordinance for approval. The ordinance committee recommended the two parking ordinances after input from the city traffic engineer; Director Moretti advised a minor amendment would be needed to avoid overlapping two‑hour parking restrictions on one street before finalizing enforcement language.

What the council did not decide tonight: The council did not take additional amendments to the parking ordinances at this meeting; Director Moretti suggested the conflict could be handled by an ordinance deletion at a future meeting.

Votes at a glance (normalized list) - Approval of minutes, July 28, 2025 regular meeting — motion approved (unanimous roll call). - Resolution: Real-estate tax abatements — approved (unanimous roll call). - Resolution: Tangible tax abatements — approved (unanimous roll call). - Ordinance O7-25-03: Ratify School Committee collective bargaining agreement with Rhode Island Laborers, District Council 13 (Bus Drivers unit) — approved. - Ordinance O7-25-07: Ratify parking-lot lease with VFW Post 2396 (Tabor Franke Post) — approved. - Ordinance O7-25-04: Amend Title 10, Ch. 32, §22.25 (no parking of commercial vehicles) — approved. - Ordinance O7-25-05: Amend Title 10, Ch. 32, §040 (no parking on certain streets) — approved; traffic engineer recommended follow-up amendment to avoid conflicting two‑hour parking restriction. - Appointment: Carol Cooney, Tax Assessment Board of Review (alternate No. 3, term to 01/05/2026) — approved. - Appointment: Justin McCarthy, Tax Assessment Board of Review (alternate No. 1, term to 01/28/2026) — approved. - Reappointment: Dean Verdecakis, Zoning Board of Review (term 10/05/2025–10/05/2030) — approved (8 Yes, 1 No — Councilman Andujar voted No).

Ending: The council moved several routine and committee‑recommended items in a single meeting; where technical conflicts were identified (the parking‑restriction overlap) staff and council indicated they would correct the ordinances at a future meeting.