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North Kingstown finance director reports surplus but warns of sudden health‑insurance spike
Summary
Finance Director Deb Bridal projected roughly $1.18 million in surplus driven by investment income and pass‑through aid, but reported the Rhode Island Interlocal Trust notified municipalities of a 10.16% health‑insurance increase (plus dental and workers' comp hikes), prompting staff to rework budget options and consider restricted surplus uses to avoid tax hikes.
Finance Director Deb Bridal told the council the town is projecting roughly $1,000,716 in revenue above the revised budget — driven by investment income, additional state aid passed through to schools and libraries, police detail revenue and other receipts — yielding an estimated surplus near $1.185 million as of the report. Bridal noted some line items and position vacancies can change that number and stressed projections will be updated.
Two days after the town completed budget deliberations, the Rhode Island Interlocal Trust informed member municipalities of benefit‑cost changes. The trust reported a 10.16% increase in health insurance premiums, a 6.29% dental premium increase, and a 49.39% increase in the workers' compensation component. Bridal said those increases were not included in the adopted budget and that staff are recalculating options; the town manager said staff’s objective is to avoid increasing the tax rate and to consider restricted surplus or other measures.
Councilors asked whether the school district faces the same increase; the town manager said the school will face a comparable percentage increase, likely with a larger dollar impact because of the district’s larger employee base, but that the district must provide its own shortfall calculations. Town staff said they would present recommended steps before the April 21 public hearing on the budget.
