South Kingstown releases proposed six-year Capital Improvement Program; PAYGO request modestly increased

Town Manager Jim Manning and finance staff presented the Town of South Kingstown's proposed Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for fiscal year 2026—2027 and the subsequent five-year plan at a Jan. 5 work session. The manager described the 92-page plan as a living financial plan that lists project descriptions, estimated costs and funding sources and must be adopted with a public hearing on or before Feb. 1; the council set the public hearing for Jan. 26, 2026.

The proposal narrows department requests after staff review. Officials said departments initially requested roughly $5.2 million in PAYGO funding for FY2026—2027; two large Public Services projects—the Saugatucket culvert project (estimated $1.3 million) and Kersey Road sidewalks ($700,000)—were spread into later years, reducing the near-term request. The Town Manager identified a proposed PAYGO contribution of $2,077,805 for FY2026—2027. Staff characterized this as a roughly $74,000—94,000 increase over the previous adopted FY2025—2026 PAYGO (the slide lists $1,983,300 adopted last year), depending on a $20,000 facilities-reserve adjustment noted in discussion.

Finance staff summarized funding across all funds: roughly $21 million in proposed project costs over six years (general fund, enterprise funds, and non-major funds) and a large school capital request noted on the slide (approximately $33.0—$33.6 million across the multi-year plan; numbers in the presentation were stated inconsistently and will be clarified at the school CIP meeting). Staff outlined funding sources that support the PAYGO amount, including EMS billing (proposed $70,000), remaining bond proceeds from 2022 and existing capital reserves (about $465,000 cited on staff slides).

The presentation reviewed department-by-department requests: planning ($100,000 funded from planning capital reserve), information technology (proposed $125,000 in year one toward a $595,000 six-year IT plan, including a two-year firewall/fiber equipment replacement and a digital-document retention program), and public safety, parks, facilities and utilities each summarized proposed paygo and reserve use. Finance noted the senior center and recreation center construction reserves are winding down and likely to rely on general fund support in later years.

The council did not take final action on the CIP at the work session; members requested follow-up detail on several items, including a breakdown of the school capital totals, firm trade-in estimates for proposed police firearm replacements, and a revenue/impact analysis of fair-share development fees related to accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The council will continue CIP deliberations, including a dedicated meeting with the school department on Jan. 6 and a public hearing on Jan. 26.