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Cranston council approves multiple routine measures; ratifies school contract and places fire chief on pension
Summary
At its Dec. 16 meeting the Cranston City Council approved a slate of routine measures including tax abatements, tax interest waivers, ratification of a school employee contract, multiple appointments, and placement of the fire chief on the pension roll. Several ordinances were advanced; one petition was returned to committee.
The Cranston City Council approved a series of routine and administrative items at its Dec. 16 meeting, including tax abatements, tax-interest waivers, ratification of a collective bargaining agreement for school employees, two board appointments, and the placement of Fire Chief Robert Ryan on the pension roll.
Below is a summary of each action recorded in the meeting minutes and transcript, with vote outcomes and available details.
Votes at a glance
- Resolution authorizing real-estate tax abatements (as requested by the tax assessor). Committee: Finance (12/02/2024). Motion approved by roll call (recorded as yes votes by council members). Outcome: approved.
- Tax interest waiver approvals for November 2024 (as recommended by the city treasurer). Committee: Finance (12/02/2024). Motion approved by roll call. Outcome: approved.
- Ordinance 11-24-01: Ratification of the School Committee’s collective bargaining agreement with Rhode Island Council 94, AFSCME AFL-CIO, Cranston Public School Employees, Local 2044 (contract effective 07/01/2024–06/30/2027). Referred from Finance (12/02/2024). Motion to approve carried on roll call; committee reported confidence the city can afford contract changes. Outcome: ordinance approved.
- Advice and consent for Mayor Hopkins’ appointment of Steven (Steve) Piscopello as director of Parks and Recreation. Motion approved (see separate report). Outcome: approved.
- Appointment: Sarah Frew as a full member of the Tax Assessment Board of Review, term effective 01/06/2025 through 01/06/2028 (request of tax assessor). Motion approved by roll call. Outcome: approved.
- Appointment: Mario Carlino to the Zoning Board of Review as second alternate to fill the unexpired term ending 07/12/2025. Motion approved by roll call. Outcome: approved.
- Pension placement: Robert Ryan, Fire Department chief, placed on pension rolls effective 01/03/2025. Motion approved by roll call. Outcome: approved.
- Ordinance 10-24-01: Amendment to Code Chapter 12.08 (Sidewalk, curbing, driveway construction; sidewalk cross-share program). Reported out of Public Works with amendment; council urged passage and the motion carried. Outcome: ordinance amended and approved.
- Ordinance 09-24-02: Amendment to Title 10, Chapter 30, Section 020 (enumerated stop intersections) — add stop at Point Avenue at Packard Street. Referred from Ordinance Committee; passed on roll call. Outcome: ordinance approved.
- Petition to abandon a portion of Elmhurst Avenue (petitioner: Brian White). Council vote: motion to send the petition back to the Public Works Committee for further work; vote carried. Outcome: sent back to Public Works Committee for additional review.
- Approval of sealed minutes of executive sessions (multiple dates noted). Motions to approve and to seal minutes were moved and carried by recorded vote.
- Executive session: Council moved into executive session under R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) to discuss collective bargaining matters (Teamsters Local 251 and Rhode Island Laborers District Council Local 1322); the council later voted to seal those executive-session minutes.
How the council voted
Where the transcript recorded a roll call, the meeting shows consistent, recorded 'yes' votes for approved items; specific yes votes for multiple items were recorded as: Councilman Ferry (yes), Councilwoman Renzulli (yes), Councilwoman Horayan (yes), Councilman Donnegan (yes), Councilman Campopiano (yes), Councilman Papalasquez (yes), Councilman Wall (yes), Council Vice President Vargas (yes), Council President Marino (yes). Where a named mover or seconder was not specified in the transcript, the motion is listed as "not specified." Where numerical tallies were not explicitly read, the record shows unanimous approval by roll call for the cited items.
Notes and missing details
- The transcript does not record identified movers or seconders for many motions; where that is the case, the motion is noted as "not specified." Vote tallies were recorded as roll calls but summary tabulations (e.g., counts for each individual motion) were not always read aloud in full; the clerk’s roll calls recorded affirmative votes for the items listed above.
- The AFSCME contract was reported to committee as affordable by both the school department and city administration; the council took no additional amendments during the full-council vote.
- The Elmhurst Avenue petition was not decided on the merits; the council voted to refer it back to Public Works for additional work and to allow incoming council members time to review.
For reporters and records
The council’s packet and subsequent bound audit package will be sent to members when the audit process is complete, and the clerk’s office provided roll-call records in the meeting video and transcript for verification.
