The North Kingstown Town Council held an all-day budget work session on March 12, 2024, to review department budgets and adopt the preliminary FY2024/2025 budget. The council heard presentations from all municipal departments, approved the preliminary budget in separate fund votes, and endorsed a plan for remaining ARPA funds. The public hearing on the budget is scheduled for April 3, 2024.
Yes, I have a lot of people do that to me around my household. Me too, right? Okay. Um I'd like to call this meeting to order for Tuesday, um, March 12th, 2024. Um second day of uh our budget workshops by department. Um Madam Clerk, at the end, are you gonna have public comment? Oh, yes, yes it is, okay, perfect. So a public comment at the end of the workshop if there is any. Um pursuant to our island general laws, uh 42-46-6C notice of this meetings will post on the Secretary of State's website. Um Matt McCoy informed me a couple of minutes ago that a former town counselor Ronald Corey has passed away, so I would like to salute the flag and give a moment of signs to Mr. Corey. Do you uh have any questions? Do you look like you had a question, Madam Clerk? I just want to make sure your microphone is on mine instead. So I can hear mine, so we all set all these just to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God to individual liberty. Thank you, everybody. No, I know. George is here, we can begin. So I um Mr. Town Manager, I am gonna turn over the po the uh microphone to you. Thank you, Mr. President. A couple of quick things before we turn it over to um Don to begin our budget hearings. Um council person Mandel had asked about the hour and fifteen lunch, hour and fifty minute lunch, and we normally do that just in case we're running late, but he brought up a good point that maybe we could, if we're not running late, switch things around. So I just wanted to offer the fact that if things are going on time, so I think a 45-minute lunch is more than enough, but Jeanette and I do this just in case we're running late. So but the way we've established it or designed it worked out well because if we're running on time, we have finance debt service and utilities at 3 30, and dev will already be here. So if we are running on time, we can move that up to 11 30, 1145 and break for lunch around 1215. That would move us up schedule-wise. Realizing that you know, you still have to approve all bids. So even if you just said the opera recommendation that we proposed is fine. Um go to you on April for a bid for so-and-so, you can easily change your mind and say, you know, I I think we have a better project than that. So you're not tying yourself in, you're just giving us direction for bid. And then finally, just another house cleaning just so that you are aware. I know we all talked about the uh enabling legislation for the public safety complex. Jeanette and I have been talking with our bond council, and that the council can put a question on the November ballot for the public safety complex by ordinance. We do not have to go for an able legislation. So that's only good news because we're not in a real time crunch. Um we still need a first read, a second read. You only have one meeting a month in the summer, so it's a s somewhat of a time crunch, but at least we're not worried about getting to the General Assembly before April. Um so that's you know, that that's a that's good news as far as I'm concerned. So my way of saying you were right and Jeanette and I were wrong. No, we were both Jeanette and I were both right. No, no, not at all. We're a team here. So that's one for Ralph. Uh not that I'm counting. I told her I know better because it just took tomorrow that'll all change and she'll be right and I'll need her support. So that's not the case here. And he promised not to tell my husband that I wouldn't. Sorry, but I didn't promise.