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Tiverton council to seek one-time use of casino funds to cover school capital timing gap
Summary
Council reviewed school capital projects, reimbursements and overspending and directed a one-time resolution to use casino funds to cover an immediate shortfall; reimbursements from the state are expected to repay the account over coming fiscal years.
Tiverton councilors and staff spent a substantial portion of the meeting reviewing two gaming‑related capital allocations, recent reimbursements, and a resulting timing shortfall for school capital projects. After discussion the council instructed staff to prepare a one‑time resolution that would draw from the town’s casino fund now to cover the shortfall, with a plan to repay the fund as state reimbursements arrive.
Administrator Carter described the background: the town had previously used American Rescue Plan and other allocations for school projects and expected state reimbursements to offset those uses. He said one earlier project had an overexpenditure of about $182,000 and that a recent reimbursement of $315,000 had already offset part of earlier shortfalls. He explained that larger reimbursements for a locker‑room project (transcript references approximately $1,747,000 in project cost with staggered reimbursements) are scheduled across multiple fiscal years and therefore do not arrive all at once.
Council members cited two shortfall figures during the discussion: a referenced shortage of about $971,000 (staff presentation) and a later immediate shortfall figure cited in the discussion of roughly $839,394. To address the timing mismatch, the town manager and treasurer proposed a one‑time resolution to use casino funds now and reimburse that account as state reimbursements are received.
A councilor noted the arrangement is intended as a temporary, documented fix and emphasized better communication and monthly budget accounting to avoid similar issues in the future. The council asked staff and legal counsel to draft the resolution for a future meeting.
Brandon Andrade, introduced to the meeting as the new financial director for the school committee, was welcomed by councilors; council members said increased coordination between town and school finance staff is a priority.
Next steps: staff will work with the treasurer and legal counsel to draft a resolution spelling out the amount to be drawn from the casino fund and the schedule and conditions for reimbursement when state funds arrive.
