EDITORIAL

Budget debate

Posted 5/21/15

The bottom line – what property owners will have to pay in taxes – will once again be the focus as the City Council reviews the mayor’s proposed $294 million budget next week.

The package …

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EDITORIAL

Budget debate

Posted

The bottom line – what property owners will have to pay in taxes – will once again be the focus as the City Council reviews the mayor’s proposed $294 million budget next week.

The package that would increase spending for road repairs and for the first time puts aside money to fund other than pension post employment benefits would mean a 69-cent increase in the residential tax rate. For a home valued at $164,400, the median value of a single-family Warwick home, the new rate would mean a $112.06 increase in taxes.

But while the impact on the taxpayers’ wallets carries the headlines, city services are certain to dominate debate. That discussion will range from the School Committee’s request for an additional $6.9 million, which the mayor denied, down to the mayor’s request for an added position in the division of minimum housing so as to address issues surrounding foreclosed and vacant housing that collectively erode neighborhoods and sense of community.

If prior budget hearings are a reliable guide, there will be some nitpicking that only can be characterized as spiteful and revengeful. We get to see that at City Council meetings, whether between certain council members and city directors or aimed generally at the administration. Hopefully, that won’t be the case again, for while it may please some people to “score some points,” the practice undermines a thoughtful discussion of the issues and tarnishes the integrity of the process.

On the other hand, there are some significant issues to be discussed and, just because there may be disagreement over how the city should proceed should, should not be construed as negativism for negativism’s sake. We’ve already mentioned some of those issues: road repair and whether the $1.5 million the mayor proposes is enough; the school appropriation and how the department might trim costs while providing a sound educational program; and recognition with $200,000 as a start that the city faces post employment benefit liabilities for retirees. That liability is currently projected at $281 million.

There are some other major considerations to this budget as well. The mayor looks to tapping unrestricted reserves – the surplus – to get things to balance, which raises the question whether the city is trapping itself into a cycle of structural deficits. Reserves were used to balance the current budget and while revenues are running ahead of projections the surplus continues to be drawn down.

Also, we find it troubling that the city wrote off about $3 million in tax revenues because of property value abatements. The administration is saying the backlog of abatements is coming to an end, which is a good thing but let’s ensure such a thing is not repeated.

Budget hearings start Wednesday, May 27 at 5:30 p.m. and continue through Friday, May 29 at City Council Chambers. They can be tedious, full of details and once in awhile amusing. For the sake of those paying the bill, let them also be civil, respectful and meaningful.

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