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Tiverton council preliminarily adopts FY2026 budget resolution; property tax rate estimated at $11.35 per $1,000
Summary
The council voted to adopt the proposed unified budget resolution for fiscal 2026 as presented, approving a package that the town says will result in an estimated 2.7 percent property tax increase and a preliminary tax rate of $11.35 per $1,000; final adoption requires a second public hearing after state-required advertisement.
The Tiverton Town Council took a preliminary vote on June 9 to adopt the proposed unified budget resolution for fiscal year 2026, approving the document as presented and instructing staff to publish the legally required notice before the town adopts a final tax rate.
Town staff said the proposed budget would produce a slight property-tax increase of about 2.7 percent with an estimated tax rate of $11.35 per $1,000 of assessed value compared to the current $11.05 per $1,000. The council noted the rate remains beneath the town's voter cap and that state reimbursement for the automotive (car) tax reduces the shortfall municipalities would otherwise face after that state-level change.
Councilors and members of the public asked several budget questions during the public hearing, including contingency amounts, general-fund balance and the status of union contract items that had driven last year's contingency. Town staff explained that the contingency appropriation was reduced because two major union contracts (police and fire) were settled and the related money is now budgeted in the relevant line items. The treasurer reported the town's general-fund balance and confirmed the local reserve remains above the 3 percent policy target.
Because state law requires the town to publish the proposed taxing rate before final adoption, the council's vote on June 9 was taken as a preliminary adoption of the budget resolution; staff will publish the notice and the council will hold a final public hearing and take a final vote after that advertisement.
Why it matters: the council's action sets the town's spending plan and the framework for the property-tax rate the town will ask taxpayers to approve once notification and the second hearing are complete.
What's next: staff will publish the required state notice; the council will reconvene for the statutory final hearing on the tax rate and take a final vote to adopt the budget and set the rate.
