Good evening.

This time I'd like to call this uh special meeting for the introduction of the uh mayor's budget to order.

I ask the clerk to please call a roll.

Present conspiracy present present traffic presentri, present Casper Campiano, present.

Present Vice President Heroyan, present, Council President Wall.

Here thank you.

First item of business will be the introduction of new matters before the council.

Um these matters will be referred uh to public hearings in the appropriate subcommittee, um, and they are listed for informational purposes only.

Um while the hearing dates before the appropriate subcommittees have been established, they are of course subject to change.

The current information related to the public hearings, and the public is encouraged to consult the city calendar on the city's website.

Pursuant the first item we're going to look at pursuant to the charter six point zero three of the city charter welcomes Mayor Kenneth J.

Hopkins to deliver his budget message and introduce the city's operating budget for the fiscal year beginning July first, two thousand twenty-six and ending on June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-seven.

Mayor, when you're ready, feel free to step up to the podium.

Thank you, Council President.

Good evening, everyone.

Honorable members of the city council and to the people of Cranston, those that are here tonight, and those that are watching at home.

Alongside me, interim finance director, Mike Igo, my nominee for new finance director, Bob Strom, my chief of staff, Anthony Moretti, and every department head who gave us honest numbers, worked with us to reorganize our workforce where necessary, and found efficiencies in their departments.

Its streets, its neighborhoods, its schools, its parks, its business corridors.

Preparing for its two hundred fifty celebration this summer.

In the state support from Speaker Shikauchi.

A historic corridor has now become a destination.

Rod families live.

We also allotted 1.2 million dollars in federal grants to upgrade Brayton Park.

That is now beginning.

That is so our girls will have one of the best softball complexes in New England.

And I see Aqueduct Road where the new aquatic center and splash pad is taking shape.

Cranston families will be swimming and having fun and picnicking by July of this year.

And then there are the schools.

In 2020, we asked Cranston voters to invest 147 million dollars in their children's futures.

Nearly 80 percent of the city said yes.

We built the new Garden City School, now touted by Ride as a statewide model.

We transformed Eden Park, and we are doing the same at the Apprentice Exploration School, one of my favorites.

We broke ground two years ago on the new eighty-three million dollar Gladstone Elementary opening this fall.

I say all of this not to avoid what comes next, but because everything we have built together depends on a city government that is financially strong to keep on building.

And tonight, that is exactly what I'm here to talk about.

In February, the Rhode Island Auditor General contacted my administration with some serious concerns about the city's financial position.

Our reserves, our internal service fund accounts, and the trajectory of our spending relative to our revenues.

His assessment was direct.

So was mine.

What matters is what happens next.

We didn't wait for someone to force our hand.

We were immediately engaged with the Auditor General's office and the Rhode Island Division of Municipal Finance.

We met with both.

We listened.

We committed to ongoing regular meetings, not because we were required to, but because transparent partnership with our oversight partners is how responsible municipal governments operate.

And beginning last month, this council committed to actively studying the monthly budget to actual reports that it receives, not quarterly, not annually, but monthly, so that the kind of compounding that created this situation cannot happen again.

Now I want to tell you how we got here plainly, because you deserve that.

Submitted budgets for two consecutive years that were not just optimistic.

They were wrong in ways that are hard to explain.

Public safety over time was cut to levels that bore no relationship to what these departments actually cost to operate under their contractual obligations.

Interest income was miscalculated.

Debt service payments, the city's most fixed, predictable financial obligation, were entered incorrectly.

That is not responsible financial management.

It is how a problem compounds and becomes the situation that we are now in.

That finance director is now gone.

The damage those numbers caused is what this budget is now trying to correct.

To the police officers and the firefighters of this city.

Your overtime was cut on paper to levels no one understood.

Your operations could have believed were real.

The fire department answered more than 13,000 calls last year.

The police department protects Rhode Island's second largest city.

Both departments worked against projections that were just not inadequate.

They were arbitrary.

That is a finance function failure.

Not yours.

This budget corrects it.

With realistic numbers that follow current trends and mirror past actuals.

And we know you will work collaboratively with us to stay within those numbers.

I trusted my finance director.

I presented my last two budgets with confidence because I believed I had the right information.

But I should have pushed harder and asked tougher questions.

That's on me.

But at the end of the day, the responsibility is mine.

And people deserve to hear me say that directly.

What matters now is fixing it.

That's the work that I owe you, and I'm doing it.

In my 2023 budget address, right here in this chamber.

I called his service invaluable.

I meant every word.

When the prior finance director resigned, and the city needed the steadiest hands that I knew, I called Bob, and he came back.

His hand is on every number in tonight's document, and I am grateful for it.

And I want to say something about this council's role in that process, not to assign blame, but because an honest account requires it.

Former council president Marino wrote about the fiscal year 26 budget in July.

Her words were these, and I quote, that the budget process was a testament to the exceptional collaboration and diligent work of the entire Cranston City Council.

That council members leaned in, asked the tough questions, and approached every detail with a fresh perspective.

And that together, the council pledged to meticulously review how taxpayers' funds are utilized across all departments.

Unquote.

Those are not my words.

Those are hers.

To the school community, because this conversation deserves an honest accounting too.

Over the past six years, under my leadership, we have given the Cranston public schools more than 588 million dollars, in addition to paying over $13 million in debt service on school construction construction bonds for buildings that will serve Cranston's children for generations.

That does not show up in the appropriation number.

Separate from the appropriation and rarely mentioned in these conversations.

I am mentioning it tonight.

When Chester Barrows is sold, $750,000 from that sale will go into a restricted account dedicated exclusively to school building repairs.

That money goes to the schools.

Any remaining proceeds from the sale of any decommissioned schools will go directly into replenishing our rainy day fund, protecting our bond rating and our ability to keep repairing and building schools in the future.

For this reason, a solid rainy day fund for the city is equally important to the schools.

Now I did not just describe a city that does not fund its schools.

And the school system has still run a structural deficit for three consecutive years.

Both things are true at the same time, and the school department has a responsibility in this conversation as well.

So when we now need what we now need is to work together to build a credible multi-year financial plan that brings structural spending in line with sustainable revenues.

I am ready to build that partnership.

This is not a conflict between the city and its schools.

Many of the biggest cost pressures come from the state unfunded mandates, out of district busing the state controls, but does not fully fund.

In the financial impact of our new charter approvals, every new charter seat adds additional cost that come directly out of Cranston's budget.

The city and the schools are united in pressing the state to stop adding new burdens until it funds the ones that it already has in place.

The proposed budget for fiscal year 2027 is 352 million seven hundred and nineteen thousand seven hundred and twelve dollars.

The proposed residential tax rate is fourteen dollars and ninety-nine cents per thousand.

For commercial properties, the proposed rate is twenty-two dollars and forty-nine cents per thousand.

That represents a 7.4 tax increase.

For the average single family owner in Cranston, the tax bill would increase by about $500 a year, nearly $22 a month.

I know that with inflation and the rising cost of living, every dollar matters.

No one is eager to take on added expense, and I don't take asking for one lightly.

But that $500 a year protects every residence rely on.

It keeps police, fire, emergency services fully functional.

It keeps trash pickup, snow removal, parks, libraries, and recreation programs running without interruption.

It ensures that the people who serve this community can continue doing their jobs without any layoffs.

In other words, for about $42 a month, Cranston keeps the services, safety, and stability that makes this city work.

This is an investment in maintaining the quality of life that residents come to expect, preventing deeper, more painful cuts down the road.

Does propose to exceed the state's 4% annual levy cap.

We are pursuing that authorization on two simultaneous tracks, and I want to be clear that this budget is contingent on approval from one or the other.

First, we have formally engaged the Rhode Island Division of Municipal Finance and the Auditor General's Office to seek authorization through the administrative process, presenting our financial situation, our stabilization plan, and our case for why an exception is warranted this year.

Second, we are simultaneously constructing legislation to request authorization directly from the Rhode Island General Assembly, consistent with the same process that Providence, One Socket, Gloucester, and Little Compton used last year.

We are not asking for permission and hoping for the best.

We are pursuing both paths at the same time, with full documentation and full confidence in the case that we are making.

But the costs that rose during those years did not disappear.

They were deferred.

Pension obligations, health insurance, contractual raises, aging infrastructure, all continued to grow.

It was my last step.

Before we turn to the revenue side, we went through this budget the way you go through a household that's in trouble.

Carefully, line by line, cutting what could be cut without harming what cannot be cut.

We implemented a hiring freeze and a non essential spending freeze.

We consolidated positions and reorganized the workforce where it made sense.

We reviewed every department, every line, every discretionary dollar before we ever proposed raising the tax rate.

Now I want to tell you directly what we protected in this budget, because the choices we did not have to make mattered just as much as the ones that we did.

We did not reduce how often your trash and recycling gets picked up.

We did not end summer programming for your children.

We did not cancel the parks maintenance schedule for our Cranston's neighborhoods.

We did not cut senior services, and we did not reduce the road repair program.

And every city employee who wanted to keep their job still has one.

I want to repeat that because it's because it's important to note.

Not a single employee who wished to continue serving the city was shown the door.

We offered voluntary, incentivized retirement and separation packages to those open to that option.

And 17 employees chose to take that.

We are grateful, extremely grateful for the years of service, especially for this lady standing behind me, 42 years.

I think she deserves a round of applause.

Thank you, Rosalba.

We are grateful for the years of service and their decisions helped to protect the jobs and livelihoods of everyone that remained.

That is how you manage a workforce in a difficult moment.

By creating choices, respecting those who take them and keeping faith with those who don't.

The people who answer calls, process permits, plow streets, and care for the animals in our shelter are still here.

And they have a mayor who's not going to balance a budget on their backs.

I also want to speak directly to the leadership and members of our city's unions.

This was an anxious period.

We were reorganizing the workforce under real constraints, trying to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and preserve as many jobs as possible.

Living with that uncertainty was hard.

Coming to work every day without knowing exactly what the put path forward would be extremely difficult.

Union leadership engaged with us in good faith.

They sat across the table when the conversations were uncomfortable.

They asked tough questions and worked with us to find a path that kept people employed.

I am grateful for that partnership.

And to every union member who showed up and did the work and trusted that we were trying to do right by you.

I thank you.

Every one of them was on the table as a possible cut.

None of them ended up in this budget.

That is what the hard work leading up to this moment protected.

For everyone here tonight, and for those watching from home, let me put this budget in plain terms.

The services you rely on every day remain intact.

Your trash and recycling will continue to be collected.

Streets will be swept.

When winter arrives, our outstanding department of public works crews will continue to plow the streets.

Police officers will be on duty, fire stations will be fully staffed, schools will be open in September, and summer programs will run.

These are the operational commitments that keep our city functioning.

And this budget funds them responsibly.

To the residents who approve the school bonds in 2020, and again in 2024.

You already made your priorities clear.

You told us that Cranston's children deserve the best facilities that we can provide.

This budget honors that decision.

It funds public safety based on realistic numbers.

It begins rebuilding our reserves.

It addresses the health insurance deficit, and it adds 1.5 million dollars more to our schools compared to last year, on top of the $2.6 million increase the year before.

It includes $22 million for the police and fire pension fund, meeting 100% of the annual required contribution.

It fully funds the OPEB ARC as well as $6.2 million.

In short, we are meeting our obligations rather than deferring them for short-time convenience.

Now I want to talk about where the city is going because the fiscal challenge I've decided tonight is not the whole story of Cranston in 2026.

Just today we received Cranston was recognized as a top 100 place to live in 2026 by Livability.com.

Cranston stood for its exceptional performance in the amenities, safety, and education categories, proving it is a place where people can actually afford to live, work, and play.

I do not think that that is an accident.

I think it is the result of years of investment in our neighborhoods, our schools, our parks, and corridors that make this city a place people genuinely want to be.

At Chapel View, we have welcomed Carver, Crumble, the upscale Cert Prime Steakhouse, a California closets, and five additional dining and retail concepts, either open or opening the spring, including Applebee's, which has been relocated and will open later this week.

At the Garden City Center, four nationally recognized restaurants are opening their first locations in Rhode Island.

Anna's Tuckeria, Sally's a Pizza, Lana Noodles, and Pop Up Bagels.

Every one of them is a new employer, a new destination and a new commercial taxpayer.

Growing our commercial tax base is not just economic development, it's a fiscal strategy.

Every new commercial taxpayer that opens in Cranston is a partner in funding this city's future without asking more from the residential homeowners who live here.

We are continually in active conversations with major and I repeat major commercial developers about making investments in Cranston that would significantly expand our commercial tax base.

We have been working hard to bring economic development to Cranston, and that work is bearing fruit.

I also want to address something that's happening right next door because it is directly relevant to Cranston's competitive position.

Two weeks ago, the Providence City Council passed rent stabilization on first reading, capping annual rent increases at 4%, and creating a new regulatory board to oversee the city's rental housing market.

Mayor Smiley has said he will veto it.

The debate is ongoing.

I am not here to litigate Providence housing policy.

What I'm here to tell you is where Cranston stands.

Cranston remains a city where property owners, landlords, and developers can invest with predictability where the rules are stable, fair, and applied consistently in a housing market as competitive as Rhode Island's right now, it is a tangible competitive advantage.

Families looking to put down roots, landlords looking for a stable environment, businesses looking for a community that values investment, and Cranston is that community.

We are ready to welcome them.

We intend to make the most of the opportunity in front of us.

Even as Cranston grows, even as our business corridors filled with new investment and new energy, there is a broader reality shaping the decisions in tonight's budget.

What we are expecting is not unique to us.

Communities across Rhode Island are facing similar pressures.

Cities and towns throughout the state have had to make difficult choices, from adjusting school budgets to seeking additional flexibility to meet the rising costs.

We are part of a statewide pattern that deserves attention.

Over the past several years, the support cities receive for day-to-day municipal operations has not kept pace with the rising cost of providing essential services.

At the same time, everything from public safety to school operations has become more expensive.

That gap has increasingly fallen on the local taxpayers, and that is a challenge that we must address together.

This is why Rhode Island needs a conservative forward-looking conversation about sustainable municipal finance, about how we support communities that are growing, about how we ensure that our school funding systems works equitably with every district.

This is where I raised my family.

It's where I taught and coached thousands of children.

I've watched Cranston face hard times and hard moments before.

And I've watched it come through time and time again.

What I know about the city, and I mean this, is that when Cranston is asked to do something difficult, it does it.

And when we come out on the other side, we come out stronger.

That isn't a talking point.

That's the history of this city.

This budget reflects my commitment to every taxpayer to be honest about where we stand, responsible about how we move forward, and relentless in securing Cranston's long-term financial health so that future generations do not face the same pressures that we are confronting tonight.

At the beginning of this evening, I asked you to remember the last time that you felt genuinely proud of this city.

I'm asking you to hold on to that feeling because every hard choice in this budget, every difficult decision, every number on every page was made to ensure that that pride continues to be justified.

And I respectfully ask for your timely review and support.

God bless each and every one of you.

God bless the city of Cranston.

And as always, one Cranston, one hotbeat.

My communications director will be available in my conference room across the hall to take media questions in about 10 minutes.

Thank you.

God bless.

Thank you, Mayor.

All right.

All right, we're gonna have order.

We're not quite done yet.

The next few items on the agenda for informational purposes only.

There is a resolution adopting the operating budget and the salary schedule for the general fund, the sewer fund, the insurance fund, the capital budget for the fiscal year commencing July 1st, 2026 and ending July 30th, 2027, and adopting the capital improvement program for the four succeeding years.

This will be referred to as special special finance committee meetings.

An ordinance, the next item for informational purposes and ordinances making annual appropriations for the city of Cranston for the fiscal year commencing July 1st, 2026 through June 30th, 2027.

This will be referred to a special finance committee meeting.

Resolution levying and ordering the assessment and collections of tax on reable real estate intangible uh personal property pursuant to charter charter number 6.11 to be referred to a special finance committee meeting, an ordinance fixing the date when taxes are assessed, due and payable, and the date when unpaid taxes will carry penalty.

This will be referred to a special finance committee meeting.

And last, just the notice, the 2026 27 budget hearing notice.

This notice is attached for informational purposes only.

The dates, times, and access to sub uh subcommittee meetings for each department level budget will be discussed, and which public hearing they will be heard.

Hearing dates are subject to change.

Please consult the city website and the calendar as mentioned previously.

There is no further business before this council this evening.

This time I'll entertain a motion to adjourn.

So moved.

Is there a second?

All in favor, please signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Opposed, signify by saying nay.

The ayes have it.

Motion carries.

Thank you very much.

And good night.