Coyle Proposes 2.03 Percent Tax Increase

East Greenwich Town Manager Thomas E. Coyle III has proposed a $60.9 million budget for fiscal 2016, which represents a tax rate increase of 2.03 percent.

The budget, which will be presented at a public hearing Monday night, is a reflection of revenue challenges that “will definitely impact the total budget as a whole,” Coyle wrote in his budget message. “Our momentum moving forward will be focused on managing less revenues and expenditure growth, while still providing the high level of services our residents and businesses have come to enjoy.

The town is dealing with the loss in $335,000 for Potowomut rescue billing, $99,115 in state school housing aid, $178,000 from the transfer in debt service and $80,000 from school impact fees.

At the same time, Coyle had to account for salary and contract obligations that will give all town employees a 2 percent raise in the upcoming year along with a 3 percent raise for firefighters, who are in their third year of a three-year contract.

The total budget is a 1.97 percent increase over last year’s $59.8 million budget. Coyle is proposing a $22.6 million town operating budget and a $38.3 million school budget, an increase of 2.38 percent over last year.

The biggest expense in the budget is for debt service. Coyle said that the actual cost went down by $85,980 in the budget, though it’s still $6.65 million — which represents 10 percent of the total budget. It is offset by housing aid and tax subsidies, though, which brings that percentage down to about 7.3 percent and well under the 10 percent “rule of thumb,” Coyle said. The largest chunk of the $6.65 million is $4.9 million for school debt service.

Also in the budget is a proposal by Coyle to hire a part-time human resources person to deal with increasing compliance requirements.

On the school side, Coyle said the increase from $32.4 to $33.9 million results in an actual increase in the appropriation of $925,455.

Coyle will present the budget Monday night the Town Council’s regularly scheduled meeting.

The council is expected to adopt the budget by May 15 before the town’s Financial Town Meeting on June 9.

The budget can be viewed HERE.