South Kingstown proposes $115 million operating budget; manager level‑funds schools and proposes 15¢ tax rate rise

Town Manager Jim Manning presented the Town of South Kingstown’s proposed 2026–27 operating budget on March 10, saying the plan aims to “provide the highest level of service in the most cost effective way.” The draft shows operating revenues of roughly $115.0 million across all funds and a proposed residential tax rate of $9.09, a 15¢ (1.68%) increase from the previous year.

Manning told the council the proposal would raise the town’s tax levy to about $80,886,982 — roughly $1.7 million more than the adopted levy this year — to cover rising personnel costs, debt service and departmental needs. Finance presentation slides put the school operating budget at about $63.3 million and the town operating budget at roughly $35.7 million; the debt‑service budget was shown at about $4.4 million, a jump the finance director attributed to year‑two payments on the new high‑school bonds.

The town manager said he level‑funded the local tax transfer to the school department at $55,994,773 after the school system requested an additional $2.5 million; Manning said he and finance staff could not reconcile a clear, prioritized list showing exactly where the extra dollars would be spent and noted that providing the full request would push the town close to the state’s 4% levy cap. “We could not pin it down exactly what their priority was and where this money was going,” he said.

Personnel costs are a notable driver: collective‑bargaining groups were proposed for cost‑of‑living increases (2–3%), nonunion staff for 2.5%, and department requests include one additional EMS paramedic FTE to staff a new Perryville station and converting a 0.55 fire‑inspector position to full time. Managers said some positions and software/maintenance contracts are moving from one funding source to another, and they expect net personnel and contractual pressures to account for much of the increase.

Finance staff said the town’s projected net assessed value is about $8.88 billion and that prior‑year tax‑collection performance remains strong (about a 99% collection rate); the town projects a modest surplus this fiscal year before adopting next year’s budget. Administration also proposed using a portion of debt‑service fund balance in 2026–27 to smooth impacts from bonds while keeping the general‑fund unassigned balance well above the Government Finance Officers Association’s recommended minimum.

What’s next: the council will continue work sessions and hold two public hearings in April; the council’s preliminary adoption of the budget is scheduled for March 18 and final adoption will follow in late May or June depending on petitions and any referendum activity. The town manager and finance staff said department heads are available to answer line‑item questions and that the council can expect additional detail on any petitioned changes and on the school department’s funding request at the next meetings.