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Pawtucket council approves 2026–27 operating budget, splits $1 million school request into MOE and MOU funding
Summary
After a daylong review and a unanimous amendment vote, Pawtucket27s council approved the 2026–27 operating budget on first passage and added $1 million for schools split into $500,000 maintenance-of-effort and $500,000 under a memorandum-of-understanding.
The Pawtucket City Council voted unanimously to approve the city27s 2026–27 operating budget on first passage after adopting an amendment that divides the administration27s $1 million school request into two parts: $500,000 added to the maintenance-of-effort line and $500,000 to be delivered under a memorandum of understanding.
Finance leadership and council members framed the amendment as a compromise that preserves a permanent maintenance increase while giving the council and administration a place to require agreed reporting and limited one-time spending through the MOU. Finance Chair (speaker 1) told colleagues the change came after repeated review of the mayor27s proposal and the city27s constrained options for nonrecurring cuts.
At a public hearing before the vote, lifelong Pawtucket resident Julio "Skip" Sequeira urged the council to limit tax increases and questioned the cumulative burden on homeowners; Sequeira said his calculations translated the proposed levy increase to roughly $12.50 per month on an average home. "I would encourage the members of the committee to please see if there's any way that the taxes can remain fixed rather than even this rather small increase," Sequeira said.
Council members repeatedly cited large, unavoidable cost drivers in this year27s budget: a roughly $2.2 million increase in medical and dental, roughly $2.3 million in contractual salary adjustments and volatile fuel and utility costs. After discussion and a roll-call vote of the amendment (passed 9–0) the council moved to approve the overall operating budget and the capital budget ordinances on first passage by unanimous votes.
Council leadership also said they would continue to press the state for additional education aid in the coming weeks; staff noted May estimating conference figures could change the city27s final fiscal picture before second passage. The ordinance will return for second passage at the council meeting scheduled following the finance committee27s posting (the council recorded a May 28 public hearing date during the session).
