Cranston City Council adopts amended FY2025–26 budget, sets levy at 3% cap

CRANSTON, R.I. — At a special meeting Wednesday, April 23, the Cranston City Council approved amendments to the fiscal year 2025–26 budget, adopted the city's operating and capital budgets and set the property tax levy at the 3 percent charter cap.

The council voted as a body to introduce Vice President Wall's proposed budget amendments into the record and then approved them as a block, including a supplemental appropriation directing an additional $357,000 (reported in the meeting record as $357,000.357537) to the School Department for maintenance-of-effort (MOE). Vice President Wall told the council his quick calculation showed raising the levy to 3 percent would generate roughly $237,754 in additional levy revenue, which he proposed be used to help fund the school increase.

The amendments rearranged multiple line items across city departments. Among the changes read into the record by Wall: electrical-permit revenue increased by $5,000 (to $230,000); a $5,000 increase to the fire land-review line (to $115,000); a $25,000 increase to parks and recreation revenue (from $400,000 to $425,000, and later discussed again in motions increasing it to $435,000); assorted reductions to executive payroll and benefit lines with new start dates in October; and numerous modest adjustments to…