Public Hearing on NK Budget is Tonight

The public hearing on North Kingstown’s fiscal 2016 budget is tonight.

The Town Council last month adopted a $102 million preliminary budget that calls for a 3.79 percent increase on the tax levy, or 53 cents to $19.44 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Parents are expected to come out in large numbers to petition the Town Council to increase the school appropriation by about $600,000 to fund all day kindergarten.

The Town Council cut $525,000 from the school district’s request for $1.4 million in additional money next year — the same amount that would have offered all-day K in all the district’s elementary schools.

Town Manager Michael Embury said that the town has been putting off many repairs and needs and has repeatedly said that school spending has increased steadily over the years.

The budget can be reviewed HERE.

The Town Council’s public hearing on the municipal budget is at 6 p.m. at the North Kingstown High School Auditorium, 150 Fairway. The school fund and capital reserve fund will be heard at 7:30 p.m.