2026-09-29 - City Council Special Meeting

04:43um coming to conclusions totally with

04:47just the first meeting. We'll we'll have

04:50uh two or three or whatever we need to

04:53get this work done. So the first order

04:57of business will be the uh mayor and his

05:00administration will present their

05:02budget. Then uh upon completion of that

05:06I'll open it up to a public hearing and

05:09folks can make uh comments or ask

05:12questions and then there will be

05:16comments and questions from council

05:18members. So at this time I would invite

05:21uh Mayor Dilva to please present your

05:24budget.

05:28No

05:32>> testing. Testing. Oh, there we go. Fet.

05:35Thank you, Council President, um,

05:38Rodri's, Vice President Rego, Councilman

05:40Fogerty,

05:42Councilwoman Soua, and, uh, all of the

05:45department heads that are here today. Uh

05:47the budget is a document that dictates

05:53or outlines the city's priorities. And

05:56this budget was put together uh very

05:58carefully with numerous uh meetings with

06:03uh various departments to see if we can

06:06craft a budget that was going to still

06:10be able to provide the level of services

06:13that our residents have come to be

06:16accustomed to and deserve while also

06:19keeping cost factors in check and

06:22keeping our taxpayers

06:24in mind. When we looked at the budget,

06:26we found that there were several items

06:28that

06:30are key budget drivers that drive the

06:33increases. And uh the first one of

06:37course is debt service. We see a 1.7%

06:39increase in this year's budget over last

06:42year. Healthcare costs have increased a

06:45staggering 16%.

06:47Part of that uh is multiffactored.

06:51The rates from our healthcare provider

06:53has gone up 8%.

06:56And there are multiple employees who

07:01have come on board who are taking family

07:03plans. So that increases the cost as

07:05opposed to some employees who were on

07:07their spouses plans and were not taking

07:10healthcare.

07:12Pension fund contributions to the police

07:14and fire have gone up 1.4%.

07:17School support funding has gone up 4%.

07:22And labor costs have gone up 4.8%.

07:26It's important to note that our unions

07:29have taken 0% increases in prior fiscal

07:33years to help us put together a balanced

07:36budget. And we thank uh the members of

07:39those unions who have taken 0%. Uh

07:41however, with that being said, uh now

07:44we're coming into the years of the

07:46contract where they're getting their

07:48increases. So that affects the uh

07:51overall.

07:53If you look at debt service, uh we hear

07:55a lot of conversation about debt service

07:58and the community on two occasions voted

08:02to borrow uh significant funds to build

08:05a beautiful East Province High School,

08:08uh an incredible Martin Middle School,

08:10and is still in construction preK

08:12program that will be the envy of the

08:14entire state.

08:16Uh but that comes at a cost. Uh when

08:19people vote for a bond, you're

08:21authorizing the city to borrow. similar

08:23to how when you are building a home and

08:26you take out a mortgage, when you take

08:28out that mortgage, you then have to make

08:29your mortgage payments. And so the debt

08:32service right now is $18.1 million total

08:36in the budget.

08:39Uh key takeaways from that is that 86%

08:42of that is school related debt service

08:45and we see a $36,000 increase in this

08:48year's budget.

08:52Under health care costs, a total health

08:55care cost of $6.96 million

08:59and we see a an increase of $966,000.

09:04Want to hit on some of the issues?

09:05>> Uh yeah. So

09:08this kind of highlights uh health

09:10insurance net of the employees co-share

09:12life and

09:13>> one second just for the record identify

09:15yourself in title for those that don't

09:17don't that's okay for people who don't

09:19know

09:19>> director of finance

09:20>> thank you

09:21>> um of the increase that the mayor just

09:24spoke about the 966,000

09:26uh about 919,000 pertains to general

09:29health insurance and minor increases in

09:31both life and dental

09:34>> there is a cost sharing offset. Of

09:36course, um our employees do have a

09:39co-share and so that amounts to $746,000

09:42of co-share. That adjusts that a number

09:45on uh pension contributions annually. Uh

09:49we're up to $13.8 million in police and

09:53fire pension contributions. Uh we broke

09:56it out uh by the amount even though it's

10:00one unified pension system. uh we do

10:03break out

10:05the amounts that pertain to the

10:07different departments, fire and police.

10:10And part of that is because a lot of the

10:13police funding that that's in place that

10:15lowers their contribution

10:17is due to uh Google funds that went into

10:20the police portion of the pension

10:22program. But regardless, uh you are

10:25seeing a $196,588

10:30increase this fiscal year.

10:33And just a quick note, um, when you're

10:35looking at the last four years of

10:36history, uh, this increase is the

10:40smallest in the last couple years, which

10:42is great for the the pension, but when

10:43you're looking at it over 2024 through

10:46today, there's been a 20% increase

10:48overall.

10:51The goal of course is to get the pension

10:54uh fully funded uh at some point where

10:57we don't have to make these large

10:58contributions but that comes with time

11:00with we're making the annual required

11:03contribution

11:05uh that is set by our uh pension

11:10actuaries.

11:12Okay. on school support. This has been a

11:15topic of discussion out in the community

11:16and it's important to understand uh what

11:19this means out of the uh

11:34I think he's got to be working with the

11:35school committee now he's shutting me

11:38down. But no, in reality, the the city

11:41of East Providence uh takes great pride

11:43in our East Province School Department.

11:45Um I've said it before and I'll say it

11:47again that uh the school department

11:50really is the source of creating that

11:53sense of pride in our community. I see

11:55it from people who visit our school uh

11:58department, whether it's for sports,

12:00athletics events, or other academic

12:02events. People gush over what we have

12:05going on here.

12:06uh we're seeing more people choosing to

12:09come to East Providence schools as

12:10opposed to going to private schools,

12:12which is wonderful when it comes to the

12:13higher grade levels. Um so that's good

12:17news. Uh and we have consistently

12:20provided the maximum amount of support

12:23um required under law. Uh but just to

12:27make information clear here, 61.9

12:31million in the budget goes towards the

12:33school. That's the city allocation. The

12:36total school budget as presented to us

12:37is 106.9 million. Uh and that comes from

12:40other sources of revenue. But I'll turn

12:42it over to Glenda just to hit some of

12:44takeaways.

12:44>> Sure. Um just a couple of them. 6.9

12:47million increase in the city support

12:49since fiscal year 2024 or 12.5%.

12:53Um the city funding as it stands right

12:55now covers about 57.9%

12:58of the proposed fiscal year 2027 school

13:01budget. And this year, between this year

13:03and last year, there will be an increase

13:04of $2.38 million.

13:09>> That's a significant increase. 2.38

13:11million.

13:13Go over to the labor side. Um,

13:17labor cost total

13:19for city. So, think about this for a

13:21minute. out of this budget when you're

13:24talking about police, fire, DPW,

13:26libraries, all of the support services

13:29across city government, uh we're at

13:31$35.4 million. Um that's a a $1.63

13:37million increase from 2026.

13:40Uh Glenda

13:43>> increase. Can you guys hear me? Yeah.

13:46Okay. The increase is pertains primarily

13:4992% to regular salaries with an increase

13:51in other items like holiday pay,

13:53stipens, and parttime

13:56part-time salaries. Uh, city labor costs

13:59total about 35.4 million or 70% of the

14:02total budget like the mayor just

14:04>> and you will see some increases on

14:05part-time pay um because minimum wage is

14:09going up. So, we had to adjust uh their

14:12their pay for part-time pay had to go

14:14up. So you'll see in different budgets

14:16that there's an increase in the

14:18part-time pay.

14:21On the good news side, you know,

14:25running a city is really effectively

14:28running a business and

14:32you're providing services as opposed to

14:36uh selling widgets.

14:39And the only way we can generate revenue

14:42to pay for these services is by having a

14:46healthy tax base.

14:48And what I strive to do as the mayor of

14:52the city and our administration

14:55uh working collectively is we try to

14:57expand the tax base. What that means is

15:00get pieces of property that are

15:02generating no revenue, have somebody

15:05invest millions of their own dollars to

15:09make that piece of property worth more

15:11so that the tax base expands and then we

15:15are generating more tax revenue off of

15:18that and we don't have to put all of

15:20that growth or or or the budget growth

15:24doesn't have to fall on all of the

15:25existing taxpayers. So, the good news is

15:28if you look at this chart,

15:30we see that there's an estimated $45

15:34million in assessed value increase,

15:39which translates to $854,000

15:42in tax revenue. Last year,

15:46we saw about $49 million in taxbased

15:50increase, which generated $950,000

15:55in additional revenue. So, when you are

15:58putting together a budget, uh you you

16:01operate the city like a like a business

16:04and trying to offset some of the

16:06increases so it doesn't go to the same

16:08taxpayers year over year. So, we do have

16:11some good news on the tax growth. Uh,

16:14and you'll see that over the years in

16:172022, we were at 13 million uh in new

16:20tax growth. Doesn't mean that that was

16:22actual taxes, but that meant $322,000 in

16:25taxes.

16:27And every year after that, you saw

16:29steady growth. Except for 2024, there

16:31was a only $9 million in growth. But you

16:34see growth o year-over-year, which means

16:37people are taking properties like uh the

16:40Ocean State Steel uh factory on Roger

16:43Williams Avenue that was um a former

16:46brownfield and developing that into

16:49housing where people are now living and

16:52it's generating a greater tax base which

16:55helps all the taxpayers. Just to point a

16:58couple things out for those that don't

16:59understand. Um the tax rate is applied

17:01to every thousand dollars of additional

17:04assessed value. So it's not a dollar

17:05dollar uh value. And also at this time

17:08this these amounts are estimated as um

17:11assessments are valued as of December

17:1331st 2026. So this is um being provided

17:17with the data as we have it today.

17:20>> Thank you.

17:22Next page is the key drivers of the

17:24budget increase. Once again, just to

17:26reiterate, debt service 306,000

17:30uh 364

17:32$36,446.

17:35Healthcare costs have gone up by

17:37966,000.

17:39Uh pension contributions have gone up by

17:41196,000.

17:43School support has gone up by two

17:452,379,000

17:47and labor costs have gone up by

17:501,633,000.

17:55This is the part that always gets a

17:56little confusing because we don't set

17:58the tax the mill rate today or we won't

18:02set it at the end of this budget because

18:04we are an off year. We have to wait till

18:06the end of the year to see what our

18:08actual tax base is and then we also need

18:11to see what happens in the next up until

18:14April. We have some uh factors

18:17>> more interesting.

18:18>> Yeah, you can you can explain that.

18:19>> Yeah. So, like I just said, the assessed

18:21values are as of December 31st, 2026,

18:25but local businesses also do some

18:26self-reporting through March 15 of 2027,

18:31which could also affect the rates as we

18:33know it. So, again, this is the best

18:34estimate that we have with the data that

18:36we have as of today. So, it's important

18:38to take a look at this because I know

18:40this argument is being made out in the

18:42public and it's it's look, East Province

18:44has always supported our school

18:47department and giving them the maximum

18:50amount of money for them to manage. Um,

18:52it's the responsibility of the school

18:54committee and the school department

18:57administration to manage and live within

18:59their budget. And the problem, and I'm

19:02sure you're going to hear from uh

19:03Superintendent

19:05uh Perry, the problem is there are so

19:08many unknowns in a school department

19:10budget. And that's why we're advocating

19:13strongly, and that's a discussion for

19:15another time, but we're advocating

19:16strongly that the general assembly look

19:18at adopt a new funding formula. uh one

19:22that has been vetted by Rhode Island

19:24Foundation. Uh that would be huge

19:27savings to every local to most local

19:30municipalities, but East Province would

19:31see a $21 million savings. But that

19:33being said, it's important for the

19:35community to know that

19:38we are proposing a 3.5%

19:41increase on the levy, which equals

19:44127.21

19:4621 million in revenue generated from the

19:49taxpayers to support the school and

19:52cityside budget. That's the that's the

19:54part that comes from the taxpayers.

19:58Of that money,

20:0060.9%

20:02goes to the schools when you include the

20:04debt service for the school buildings

20:06that we built for them. Okay? So it's

20:08important to understand that 39.1%

20:12stays to operate the rest of city

20:15government, police, fire, libraries, all

20:19the services, DPW. So it's it's

20:22important for us to have a clear

20:23understanding of where the money goes.

20:25Uh and then I'm going to turn it over to

20:27Glendum.

20:28>> Uh yeah. So just wanted to point out

20:30without the with the school debt or debt

20:33service, it's a 60.9. Without it, it

20:35would be 48.6%. 6%. Um, so pretty close

20:39to 50/50. Um,

20:42with the with the estimated data as we

20:45have it right now and the 3.5% levy that

20:47we're proposing, um, we are hoping with

20:51the growth and all the other factors

20:52that we have to take into account, the

20:54residents bills will will uh increase by

20:57only 2.5%.

20:59Um, so not the full 3.5.

21:03uh that would bring their tax rate up

21:05from 1335 as it is today up to 13.68 68

21:09assuming no changes in these estimates.

21:12And um just so you know, the inflation

21:15figures up there um are 12 month August

21:1825th to August 26th

21:21for

21:23one year and then August 26 at for

21:25fiscal year 27, I'm sorry. Um and in

21:27comparison to the US and New England uh

21:30inflation rates, the tax increase in

21:33resident bills um is less than both.

21:37Yeah, I think that's an important key

21:38factor to uh understand. In last year's

21:41budget, we had a 4% levy, but the actual

21:45tax rate increase turned out to be 2.1%

21:48to the taxpayer, and that is still below

21:51the US inflation rate and the New

21:53England inflation rate, which is 3.7%.

21:56Uh, in this year's budget, these are

21:58projections. We project once again 3.5%

22:02on the city levy growth and the tax rate

22:06would probably be around 2.5%

22:08uh which is once again uh significantly

22:11below the US inflation and New England

22:13inflation.

22:19I'm going turn this over to Glend and

22:20let her explain this. So, this was a

22:22general big picture that we just wanted

22:24to touch on. Um, national and and local

22:28inflation. Um, again, this doesn't touch

22:30on everything that affects the city. Um,

22:32everyone kind of feels the increase in

22:34cost at the gas pump, at the grocery

22:36stores, on our bills, but um, we just

22:39wanted to kind of compare where the city

22:41stands uh, as far as inflation rates

22:43with national um, public buildings,

22:46especially utilities, electricity and

22:48gas. We're actually higher than the

22:50national rate as of right now with our

22:52electricity budget increasing by 8.7%

22:56and our heating budget uh, increasing by

22:5811.9%.

23:00Um, fuel tends to be a little bit more

23:03volatile and harder to compare on a

23:05national average. Uh, waste collection

23:08on a national level is increasing by

23:104.4%. Rhode Island is feeling it more

23:13around five and city of East Providence

23:15specifically at 5.3%.

23:18Um, and just across the board, building

23:20maintenance, paving mixtures, and

23:22concrete, all the prices have gone up by

23:24at least five, seven or 4.2%.

23:27um some of these line items when you

23:28guys get to line by department, you

23:30won't necessarily see an increase, for

23:33example, in fuel and um

23:36paving. However, it is costing the city

23:39more money. So, we're just having to

23:41manage the inflation rates with a flat

23:44um budget for those two specific line

23:47items when we get to them. It's also

23:49important to uh recognize that u part of

23:53the increase here on the building

23:56repairs is that in speaking with our uh

23:59building superintendent, they wanted to

24:01make sure we put adequate funding in uh

24:04maintenance and upkeep of our buildings.

24:05Uh so that that may be part of that

24:08increase that you'll see here, but we'll

24:09uh analyze that as we go through each

24:12budget. I think that concludes uh our

24:15presentation. Uh I just would like the

24:17council and the community to know that

24:20uh these budgets are something that we

24:24take very serious. There's a lot of

24:26negotiation within our department heads

24:28to try to find uh where the savings

24:33where we can put together a balanced

24:34budget. Uh this is a balanced budget. uh

24:38next year's budget, we're hoping uh

24:40we'll see some relief in the fact that

24:43we'll start getting uh some of the debt

24:46service payment that should be coming

24:48from the state for the schools will be

24:50coming our way. Right now, we're footing

24:52the whole bill because the prek

24:56building, we went we went out to bond to

24:58borrow to build to build the Martin

25:00Middle School, the prek building and the

25:04Wington improvements, but we're footing

25:06that entire bill right now. We're not

25:08getting any state aid just yet because

25:10we're not substantially complete. I

25:12believe in April we will be. So, we'll

25:14start seeing some funding coming in uh

25:16from the state that will help us

25:18hopefully put us in a good way and a

25:20better way for next year's budget when

25:22we're putting together the budget. U any

25:25questions?

25:27>> Thank you. I think we will shortly. Uh

25:29Director Delgado, you're also listed

25:31here as one of the department. Did you

25:33have something to add later or you

25:35substantially

25:37uh done now and you'll just react to

25:39questions after?

25:40>> Yeah, I'm okay.

25:41>> Every budget. So, I'll just react to

25:43questions as needed.

25:44>> Okay. So, the next part of the

25:46presentation, I'm just going to uh

25:48change up a little out of a courtesy. I

25:51know the school department has also been

25:53meeting tonight and uh trying to um get

25:56some things in order in in their house.

25:58So, without objection, I'm going to ask

26:00that uh Superintendent of Schools, Dr.

26:04uh Robert Perry, and his uh staff, if

26:07you have anyone accompanying you, that

26:10you come forward at this time.

26:31Dr. Perry, uh, welcome. Nothing like,

26:35uh, jumping right into the fire as a new

26:37superintendent of schools. Uh, if you

26:40want to identify your staff that you may

26:42have with you tonight.

26:45>> Thank you to the members of the council

26:46for inviting us this evening. It was not

26:49long ago that I was the director of

26:53human resources. I believe I might have

26:56spent more time working on the city

26:58budget in terms of number of months than

27:02this budget that we will be presenting.

27:04I'm happy to have with me this evening

27:06Mark Pitelli who is our acting director

27:09of finance. Jessica Aruda is our acting

27:14controller and Mr. Joseph Crowley who is

27:17a consultant for us. Joe has uh over

27:22several decades has not only been a

27:25business manager and educator uh he has

27:28been the instrumental in coming into

27:32over a dozen school districts to try to

27:34to write the ship. Joe was the chairman

27:37of the budget commission in West Warick

27:40and we are happy to uh have Joe here uh

27:43support as well.

27:46So this budget that we are presenting to

27:49you this evening um

27:53it's it's stark. That's an adjective

27:56that that we use at one point because

27:59there

28:00it's going to be presented in a way um

28:03that has not been done so before.

28:06by to my knowledge by the school

28:08committee.

28:09We went through a process of four

28:11separate budget meetings. Uh Mr. Ferrer

28:14is here with us this evening. Mr.

28:15Desimus is here. I believe Mr. Lewis,

28:18Miss Boschain will be coming and Mr.

28:20Queenan is also

28:22>> Yes, I believe they vented.

28:32>> First side slide, please.

28:37So the key indicators that we are

28:40showing on this first slide are very

28:42very straightforward. Full-time staff is

28:45740 approximately 745 full-time

28:47employees. Our October enrollment a few

28:51days we're projecting 5,8 and the per

28:55pupil expenditure uh which actually came

28:57from a 2025 figure which was the most

29:00recent that we had was 21,999.

29:02The reason I state this in a very uh

29:06quick general way is because these

29:07numbers have not really changed

29:09substantially from last year to this

29:11year.

29:18As Mayor Dilva pointed out, our proposed

29:22fiscal year budget for 2027, which was

29:25approved by the school committee, is

29:28$16,866,000.

29:32That is the figure on the right. To the

29:34left is the fiscal year 2026 budget that

29:38you approved 103,000 I'm sorry

29:42103,354,000.

29:44This was uh this request this year is 4%

29:48above which is the maximum that we could

29:51request for a total of 2,379,000.

29:59This accounts for 39 uh I'm sorry, state

30:02education aid that we receive uh 42

30:05million uh accounts for 39.6%

30:08of our budget and the local education

30:10aid which is provided by the taxpayers

30:13of East Providence accounts for 57.9%

30:16of our budget for a total of 61,871,000.

30:23We have other revenue in the form of

30:25Medicaid, uh, various rental incomes and

30:28and miscellaneous lo local educational

30:30receipts that account for $2.6 million.

30:39This is where it gets a little tricky.

30:42The figure in the middle is the

30:43106,866,000

30:46that we are requesting

30:49as our budget that will be to be

30:51approved this year.

30:53However, we are projecting based upon

30:55our current spending, we're projecting

30:57that at the end of fiscal year 2027

31:01that we may have spending upwards of 110

31:04million.

31:06That's why the final uh column is in

31:09parenthesis $3.8 million.

31:13Now there are a few reasons that that um

31:18this is presented this way in the budget

31:20document that we provided to you the

31:23large document with the columns numbers.

31:27It does show this number at the end and

31:29uh this parenthesis is $3.8 million

31:33and to my knowledge

31:36a budget has not been presented to you

31:38in a manner such as this. Now, we do

31:40recognize that we can only request up to

31:43a maximum of 4%. However,

31:48based on our current spending,

31:51based on knowing where we are today,

31:54where we were last year at this time,

31:56we're anticipating that at the end of

31:59fiscal year 2027,

32:01our expenditures may be 110 million.

32:07If that does happen, we will be meeting

32:10with the auditor general as we have uh

32:14since as we continue to do along with

32:16Miss Delgado

32:18and we will be explaining to the auditor

32:20general that we have a deficit of

32:23potentially $3.8 million. At that time,

32:27the auditor general will ask us to

32:30create a plan. you will ask us to create

32:32a plan that will uh be over five years

32:36up to five years that we will have to

32:38pay down our debt.

32:41Currently, we are looking at a deficit

32:45at the end of 2026

32:47of $1.3 million. We have already

32:52alerted the auditor general of this and

32:56because of the fund balance that we

32:57currently the positive fund balance that

32:59we currently do have we are still not

33:02going to um be in trouble with the

33:04auditor general. However,

33:07if the projections happen

33:09to theund to the tune of 110 million we

33:13will have to have a plan with the

33:14auditor general.

33:20So I do want to provide to you uh some

33:22of the so that you understand where

33:25these um costs are coming from. In the

33:29first column salary and benefits now

33:31you'll notice that we did budget in 20

33:34this year this fiscal year 83 uh.6

33:37million. However we are projecting at

33:40the end of this fiscal year we will be

33:42at 83.8 8. That's roughly 200,000

33:45$200,000

33:47this coming uh in this budget that we

33:49are requesting. Now, we're looking at

33:50approximately 86 million um which is 3

33:54million more and that is based on again

33:58projections for salaries and benefits. I

34:02do want to point out to you that the

34:04school department

34:08has

34:0982%

34:11of its budget in salaries and benefits.

34:14The schools are people is a we are a

34:17people business and therefore 82% of our

34:21budget comes from salaries and benefits.

34:25In the next column, you'll see that this

34:27is where we're starting to see some of

34:30the stress. Out of district placements,

34:33those would be private school tuitions,

34:36special education placements, charter

34:38schools. We budgeted in 2026.

34:43However, we're projected at the end of

34:44this year to spend 7.8 million.

34:50Therefore, for next year, we want to

34:52make sure that we are on track and

34:54actually projecting and budgeting for a

34:57proper amount. We are again requesting

34:597.8 million and that is part of that

35:02total number that we are showing you the

35:04110 million projection.

35:07Additionally, student transportation,

35:11we budgeted this year 7.4.

35:14We're projected to spend 8.5.

35:18Next year, we believe with some aid from

35:20the state, we will need $8.1 million.

35:30I don't want to leave you with these

35:32stark numbers without

35:35talking about some of the things that we

35:37might potentially do to try to

35:40make some savings.

35:44One of the things that is

35:48a challenge to us in making any cuts for

35:51this year is the fact that there is a

35:54law in title 16 that states that

35:59any cuts to teachers

36:05have to happen before June 1st.

36:09Therefore, we are not able to get any

36:11savings up until

36:14June of 2027.

36:17It's quite possible that in the second

36:20column, you can see that if we do cut

36:22certified staff, we could save up to $3

36:24million.

36:25If we're looking at approximately

36:27$150,000 on average for a teacher all-in

36:31salary and benefits,

36:34we could save up to $3 million if we cut

36:3720 positions.

36:38That is certainly not something that we

36:40want to do. We're not quite quite sure

36:42if we can do that based on requirements.

36:46Operational and non-personnel cuts. We

36:49have looked into saving on energy. We

36:52could look to change the

36:55distances that students have to walk to

36:57take buses.

36:59We looked into different ways that we

37:02could make cuts to athletic programs.

37:06There's potential there.

37:08We could potentially close and

37:10redistrict schools. Not anything we want

37:13to do. We have a we have a feasibility

37:15study currently that will be returned uh

37:18just in a few days. And it's looking

37:21like we don't have the capacity to to

37:23close any schools because we need all

37:26the classrooms that we have.

37:31Another option is a 0% firstear wage

37:34increase. We are currently in

37:35negotiations with two unions. We know

37:38that the city did negotiate contracts in

37:43which three of the unions took 0%

37:45increases.

37:47We could create an early retirement

37:49incentive.

37:52We would lose some of our most veteran,

37:54experienced uh amazing educators.

37:58That is a possibility. And again, back

38:00to the expanded walk distance.

38:03So that is all I have to present to you

38:06this evening. Um as you all know this

38:11process uh we went through four budget

38:14processes with the school committee and

38:17uh we've worked uh out individual line

38:20items. I know that the school committee

38:23had vigorous conversations about what

38:25this means and they have uh their

38:27different opinions about how we got

38:29here, where we're going to go. We are

38:32committed to writing our fiscal ship. We

38:36recognize that the city council has been

38:38generous in past years. We recognize

38:41that we have a 4% cap. We recognize that

38:44the mayor has done uh

38:48really laudable work in trying to

38:50increase the tax base to provide

38:52services. However, we know that our

38:55children are our greatest asset. We want

38:59to continue to be able to provide to the

39:02children of East Province, to the

39:03families of East Providence, the

39:05excellent education that they have

39:07always known. We want to make sure that

39:10we are um providing opportunities for

39:14kids to learn, to develop their

39:17character, to work within a community

39:20that supports them. Having said that, I

39:23am happy to answer any individual

39:24questions that you may have.

39:26>> Thank you, Dr. Perry. So staying with

39:28our format and we'll we'll do this

39:31department at a time. So we'll have

39:33questions for this department and then

39:35when they pretty much cease we'll move

39:38on to the next department. U a reminder

39:41no council votes are taken tonight. No

39:44decisions are made tonight. This is a

39:46workshop one of several that we have

39:49scheduled. So this time I would invite

39:51members from the public based on what

39:54you've you've heard and you seen here

39:57this presentation and some of you I know

39:59have probably done some research on the

40:02school budget. So at this time we are um

40:06just asking questions or making comments

40:08about the school presentation. So, if

40:12you want to come up to the podium, name

40:14and address for the record, and you

40:17know, there's no strict time limit.

40:19We're going to with discretion give you

40:20a few minutes to say what you'd like to

40:22say. We realize there'll be other

40:25opportunities to speak, there'll be

40:27other workshops, but for now, um, anyone

40:32want to come forward and and discuss the

40:35school budget presentation as just as

40:38you've just heard?

40:42Dr. Perry, this does not mean you're

40:44getting everything here because no one

40:46jumped to up right now. Um, what is

40:51>> Well, people may have signed, but anyone

40:54here who wants to speak about the school

40:56presentation, now is the time. This sign

40:59up is not

41:02it's overall budget, but right now we're

41:04on the school presentation. This is not

41:08like a regular council meeting with the

41:11signup sheet uh rules. Um for instance,

41:15there's a name here, Nancy Hail, did you

41:17have a question about the school

41:18presentation that's just heard? No.

41:21Okay. And Hillary,

41:25what is that?

41:29Hi, Hillary. Did you want to address the

41:31school presentation for now? Okay, we'll

41:33keep this though for you. Thank you,

41:35Councilwoman.

41:36Okay, hearing and seeing none, I would

41:38now ask the colleagues on the council

41:42for uh questions and comments to Dr.

41:44Perry or his staff that are here.

41:48>> U council vice president Rigo, you have

41:51the floor.

41:52>> Mr. President, um

41:54maybe Mr. Crowley can answer this

41:56because he came in as the consultant.

42:00When did you start

42:03recognizing

42:05that there was a deficit going on? I

42:08know with your work in the past, you can

42:12peg these situations.

42:28taking a look at the uh what has gone on

42:31in the past, taking a look at what's

42:34happening now in terms of of course the

42:37uh I was just running some quick

42:39numbers. Four items. The uh salaries

42:43[clears throat] and benefits,

42:44transportation, utilities, and out of

42:47district tuitions account for something

42:50like $15 million out of the $110 $110

42:55million budget that we're looking at. So

42:57that leaves $5 million to take care of

42:59everything else that goes on in the

43:01school department. The uh the costs and

43:04I've been involved in a number of

43:06districts as as was mentioned earlier by

43:08the superintendent. The uh this is this

43:11goes on around the state. The uh the the

43:14increases in revenues uh not keeping up

43:18with the increase in expenses. I mean we

43:20we had you know the the mayor mentioned

43:22the costs and health benefits ours went

43:24up by like 11.2%. 2%. Well, you know,

43:28when those types of things are happening

43:30and with the restrictions, you know,

43:32we're limited to the 4% that the uh the

43:35city can provide, the state gives some

43:37money. As as the mayor mentioned, he had

43:39gone to the state in terms of the uh

43:41requesting some, you know, more monies

43:44in terms of the allocations there. Just

43:46today, I sent a an email to our

43:48congressional delegation

43:50because the IDA law, which was the law

43:54that provided for special needs

43:55students, it's 50 years ago. 50 years

43:59ago, the federal government said that

44:00they would pay 10% of that and raise

44:03that up to 40% over the course of time.

44:06Over that 50 years, they have never gone

44:09above 18% and right now it's 13%. So the

44:14special needs course and our tuitions go

44:16up because obviously all of the programs

44:19that we send kids to their costs go up.

44:22So the uh if the federal government

44:24would do its share then we would not be

44:27in the position that we're in. But the

44:29you know it's just a case of the the

44:32expenses are growing much more rapidly

44:34than the capacity to generate revenue.

44:37And that's why we find ourselves in the

44:39position that we're in. And having done

44:42this for any number of years and in any

44:44number of districts, I don't see that

44:46getting any better going out in years to

44:51come. There has to be some kind of a

44:52solution for all of the communities

44:54within the state and obviously Paris

44:57Providence.

45:00>> Thank you. Other other comments or

45:02questions? Um I

45:05don't have a question per se um a

45:08comment. I I just want to echo and and

45:12make it clear what uh Dr. Perry said,

45:14what May the Silver said. Uh this city

45:17council has given

45:20and and this is meant in a positive vein

45:23has has appropriated every penny that

45:28our school department has requested. In

45:31fact, last budget year, we even went

45:34beyond that when a council member said,

45:37"I think we need to give a little more

45:39money because we want to do some things

45:41for the schools." We also um crafted the

45:46plan where there was close to $3 million

45:49left on the high school bond due to the

45:53great work of everybody involved with

45:55that process. and to have that money

45:59left over. By law, that could have just

46:02gone into a general fund somewhere. But

46:05we unanimously as a council said and

46:09with the mayor, we all said, "Let's put

46:12that in a separate school account just

46:14for building maintenance issues that may

46:16arise. School needs a boiler. They need

46:20something else." So, we've really tried

46:23to doing it our part and I I know we'll

46:26continue to do that. This is one city,

46:28one team. We're going to work together

46:31on all this. Um, again, for those here

46:34in the public, there'll be other

46:36hearings, other opportunities. Uh, Dr.

46:38Perry, thank you and your staff. Oh, I'm

46:41sorry. You do have a question. Okay.

46:43>> I just have a quick question. Um, and

46:45and it might not be able to be answered

46:47tonight, so a follow-up is fine uh via

46:49email. Do we know? So in your

46:52presentation it said that estimated by

46:54end of our fiscal year 26 that our

46:57transportation budget or the school's

46:58transportation budget would be close to

47:008.5 million. Is that correct?

47:04>> Yes, that's what we have projected.

47:06>> And is that that is the current contract

47:09that we have with the

47:12transportation company?

47:14>> It is and it's next year it's going up

47:169%. And does that include busing

47:20students to outside districts or is that

47:22just within our city district?

47:23>> It's with it is it's within uh it's all

47:26dis all transportation outside as well.

47:29>> Now [clears throat]

47:30I'd be interested if available what the

47:32difference is between the two. How much

47:34are we paying for our inner city school

47:37bus school transportation within the

47:39city and how much is it costing the

47:41school department to bus children

47:43outside of the city to other public

47:45schools or private schools or charter

47:47schools. So that just one question there

47:50unless you know the answer.

47:52>> If I may, there's a ride um did they

47:56they bill us for outside district uh

47:59transportation and last year 2026 they

48:03allotted $10,000 of reimbursement of

48:06lowering the bills. In this current

48:08year, it's reflected in our budget. It's

48:10$348,000

48:13that they've increased uh our cost to

48:16out of district students.

48:18>> So, is an increase of 300,000 to last

48:21year's budget for this year for outside

48:23students.

48:23>> Well, we're decreasing the budget based

48:25on them decreasing the cost to East

48:27Providence.

48:30And then the other question um regarding

48:32transportation is have we looked at what

48:36our schedule is for transportation um in

48:39terms of busing students because I know

48:42within the center of the city that there

48:44are buses that are half full multiple

48:47buses on the same route that have a

48:51third of the students that are capacity.

48:54So that just looks like misuse of the

48:57transportation system and at a high cost

49:00to the to the school department.

49:03>> Yeah. You know, learning about the how

49:05transportation and our operations

49:07department works. Um it's it's very eye

49:09opening to me. I I know that we depend

49:12very much upon Ocean State. They provide

49:15models um for doing so. One of the

49:19things that the district has done in

49:21recent years is we have um we have

49:24placed specific special education

49:27programs in specific schools. The reason

49:30for this is we have you know uh we're

49:32able to provide by having students uh

49:35with certain types of special needs um

49:39being in one location we're able to best

49:42provide for all of the professionals to

49:44be there. we can make sure that we're we

49:45can do a better job providing adequate

49:47class sizes.

49:50The rub is that now we have to transport

49:53many of those kids. So there might be a

49:55student who goes to Ken Heights uh in

49:57the Ken Heights neighborhood who now

49:58goes to Myron J. Francis. So it's a

50:02cost. I think that's one of the

50:04consequences of providing for the

50:07savings in the ways that I just stated

50:09we now might be paying for in

50:11transportation. So there are examples

50:13like that and we do have to look at that

50:15and we do have to figure out what the

50:17the best way to provide all these

50:18services. So yet without question I I

50:21question that myself when I look and see

50:24that sometimes we do have buses that are

50:26not at capacity. However um again this

50:29is something we're going to have to

50:30depend upon our partners in Ocean State

50:33and also our operations department to

50:35come up with the best solution.

50:37>> Okay. Yeah. I I I don't know what each

50:39bus costs obviously because that's not

50:41within the role of of this council to

50:43manage that. That's obviously on the

50:45school and school committee's end. Um

50:47but I do know that you know there are

50:50multiple buses going to not special

50:52needs buses because those I think are a

50:54separate entity right because you have

50:56special equipment or need additional um

50:59support on those buses to help uh

51:02properly and safely transport those

51:03students. Um, these are just regular

51:06school students going to maybe the

51:08middle school in Riverside and there's

51:10multiple buses on the same route that

51:12have five kids in them.

51:14One of the things uh a lot of parents

51:17nowadays drive their children regardless

51:19if they have transportation available or

51:21not or not and we still have to provide

51:24buses for those kids. I don't know that

51:26that is the reason um to your to your

51:28point, but without question

51:30transportation as obviously being one of

51:32the the three big buckets that we put up

51:35here, it's something that's driving our

51:37costs and this is a statewide concern to

51:40the point that you know the Rhode Island

51:42Department of Education, the state the

51:44governor has even pointed out that

51:45transportation is something that

51:47probably does need to be addressed at

51:49the legislative um by the general

51:52assembly um without question. And in

51:54addition, um, not to go off further, but

51:56you know, looking at the funding

51:58formula, all of those things with the

52:00help of our of our legislators would

52:03certainly lend to improving our

52:05position.

52:06>> Thank you.

52:11>> The the bus systems are predicated on

52:13the number of kids in in elementary

52:15schools. That the buses, it's a three-

52:17tier system. the elementary buses, the

52:19middle school buses, and the high school

52:21buses is predicated on how many buses we

52:23need for the elementary schools. So the

52:25elementary school buses tend to be much

52:26fuller

52:28>> because first off, the number of

52:29students at that level. Then as those

52:32buses then go around the city and pick

52:34up middle school kids, they're going to

52:35have fewer kids because there are fewer

52:37middle school kids, which pretty much

52:39the same for the high school. So you

52:41will see fewer kids as you go up from

52:44from elementary on up. So we expect you

52:48will see a lot of empty seats and as Dr.

52:51Perry mentioned you know at certain

52:53level a lot of parents are deciding you

52:55know I'll take my kids or we even have

52:58high school kids that drive back and

53:00forth to school. So you know the buses

53:02are there and people may may not be

53:05needing them but we need to have x

53:09number of buses for elementary schools

53:10and that's what drives the number of

53:13buses that are out there. So just to be

53:16clear, so you're saying that if our

53:17elementary schools need say 50 buses in

53:21a daily basis, whether we need 50 buses

53:24for high school or middle school, we're

53:26paying for 50 buses for the entire day.

53:29Is that what you're saying? At one fixed

53:30price, that's what happens. That's

53:32>> no way to negotiate. We only need

53:35just it's just a question because

53:36obviously we're not in charge or to see

53:38those contracts. So, I don't know how

53:40that works, but I'm thinking these are

53:41ways that could

53:42>> the the other factor in there, too, is

53:44timing. You have only so much time to

53:47get everybody into the uh into the high

53:50school and then get all of the buses

53:52back out and get them kids to the middle

53:55school, then get the buses back out to

53:57get the kids to elementary school. So,

53:59that too is a factor in terms of, you

54:01know, how many buses you need to get the

54:04all of the kids that need to get to

54:05school to school.

54:07>> Okay. Thank you. My other question that

54:09I had, but I think I was going to

54:11reserve it for um the city side. Uh when

54:14it comes to the energy costs, um is it

54:18still correct that the school is part of

54:20the three-part energy saving that the

54:23city went into negotiation with for um

54:25electric for um energy, the renewable

54:28energy, green, electric,

54:31I believe it was it was to for that

54:33contract to to go through it was city,

54:36school, and um public housing.

54:43We have a meeting tomorrow with an

54:45outside energy company for the school

54:46department. As far as the three tiered

54:48program, I'm not entirely sure. Glenda

54:51might be able to speak better to that

54:52than I.

54:53>> I believe yes, the contract was with the

54:56three pieces altogether and still is as

54:59of today.

55:00>> Okay.

55:01Thank you.

55:02>> Thank you, Councilwoman. Uh just briefly

55:04to add to the conversation about busing

55:07uh a little uh a little different from

55:11the main issue but uh an observation

55:14that I've had through the years and I

55:16think people have and I'm not sure

55:18everyone understands it. The mornings

55:20will be more crowded, especially high

55:23school, middle school. And then I've

55:26heard people say, gee, in afternoon I'm

55:28watching these buses come out of the

55:29high school and there's eight kids, 10

55:31kids. Have to realize that we have

55:34hundreds of kids

55:36after school in activities, clubs,

55:40sports, a lot of different things.

55:42They're they're practicing. They're they

55:45don't take the bus at 2:00, you know,

55:48they're there till 5:00 practicing with

55:51the team or in a in a club activity.

55:54Might seem like a small point, but it's

55:57uh it's a salient fact that that does

55:59happen, one I've seen through the years.

56:02But anyway, uh the council questions. Uh

56:05just as a final courtesy, the members of

56:07the school committee are here. any of

56:09you wanted to add any comments or

56:13questions while we're on the school

56:15budget

56:16um come forward at this time

56:27just identify yourself

56:32>> not necessarily no school committee

56:34member okay

56:37>> it's public.

56:40I could really emphasize a joke right

56:42here, but I'm not going to. Um, I just

56:45want to say good evening. This is my

56:4612th time that I have sat up here

56:50uh during budget season and my last

56:52time. So, I just want to thank you for

56:55the past of what you have contributed to

56:57our school department, especially last

56:59year with the little extra that was

57:01thrown in. Um, as you can see, most of

57:05these faces are very unfamiliar to you

57:07because this is all new. This is a

57:11different group of people who have done

57:12a phenomenal phenomenal job getting us

57:15to where we are. Um, again, in the last

57:1912 years, the word deficit had never

57:21came up. So, this was a really

57:23worrisome for all of us. But I think my

57:26team has said a lot of this is unfunded

57:30mandates that we cannot we have to deal

57:34with them and support them. So I again

57:37asked the bus questions as well. Um

57:42we have in the past when the budget

57:44commission was here they extended it. We

57:47were a mile then we went to a mile and a

57:50half. Elementary was uh half a mile. Now

57:54we're at a mile and same go forth with

57:57middle school and high school. So we've

57:59already extended that spot and have not

58:02seen a huge savings when it comes to

58:04buses.

58:06We had two contracts to look at.

58:10Um and then I believe one left before we

58:14even got to look at it. So um those

58:18prices they've got us. I don't really

58:20know else how else to say that. Um I

58:24just really have a lot of faith in all

58:26of you to continue to support us at the

58:284%

58:30uh that we are needed to

58:32educate our students because in my

58:35opinion students are never a line item.

58:38Thank you.

58:39>> Thank you. Thank you Dr. Perry and

58:41staff. Um we will switch now to the DPW.

58:46I want to thank the new administration

58:48here from the school department.

58:52Echoing the words of school committee

58:54woman, I want to thank you for your

58:56service, but also we will continue with

58:59our 4%. And I also want to thank Mr.

59:03Crowley

59:04for giving us that roadmap as to how

59:08unfortunately your department got there.

59:11and he's worth every I've I've heard

59:14people say why why are we paying this

59:17man? Well, this man is going to get this

59:21department in the right on the right

59:23road and I you have my full support and

59:28I thank you again the way you explained

59:31how that happened.

59:36>> Thank you ladies and gentlemen. We'll

59:39switch now to the public works, highway,

59:42and parks for the city.

59:55While there's a break in the action

59:57here, please do not send in the score of

59:59the Red Sox Yankees game. I'm taping it.

1:00:02I will watch it late tonight at home and

1:00:05I don't want to know the score until I

1:00:08get home. So, no hints, please.

1:00:12>> Yes. Well, we have time to maybe catch

1:00:15the second inning or so. Yankees are

1:00:18going to lose anyway.

1:00:30>> Okay. I guess when you folks uh settle

1:00:34down, you can I for the public purpose

1:00:37identify yourselves and titles and we'll

1:00:41proceed. Director, if you want to start.

1:00:44>> Good evening, council. Dan Borgess,

1:00:46public works director.

1:00:50>> Um so before you is [clears throat] the

1:00:52uh highway and parks budget.

1:00:55Um you know, as the mayor mentioned,

1:00:57many of the many of the increases are

1:00:59are really just

1:01:01as needed. Um there's not there aren't

1:01:04many requests here um for increases, but

1:01:07I'd be happy to um answer any questions

1:01:10you might have.

1:01:13>> Thank you. I I think this has always

1:01:14been the uh meat and potatoes of the

1:01:17city budget. Um I mean, they're all

1:01:20equally important, especially schools,

1:01:22but uh public works. Uh you're involved

1:01:26in so many things. Uh,

1:01:31do you have anyone else who wants to add

1:01:33anything to highway? Glenda, do you want

1:01:35to add to this or

1:01:38>> No, a lot of this is contract related

1:01:40like like both Dan.

1:01:41>> Right. So, we'll without objection, I'll

1:01:44switch a little bit here and go to

1:01:46council questions and comments first

1:01:48because public isn't hearing too much

1:01:51right now until maybe we make some

1:01:53comments. So, uh, we'll go to the

1:01:56council first for comments or questions

1:02:00on highways, parks,

1:02:03public works in general.

1:02:08I'll I'll start I'll ask um

1:02:11I I know that uh when we ask you about

1:02:14staffing, you could always use

1:02:17half a dozen more people. Uh, I'm sure

1:02:20probably more. So, in in theory, uh you

1:02:24don't have to talk about numbers. Um

1:02:28how are we doing with staffing?

1:02:31>> Yeah. So, thankfully um within the last

1:02:33few months, we've been able to hire and

1:02:35fill um some vacancies within um the

1:02:38parks department. So, we are um I

1:02:41believe fully staffed at this point um

1:02:43and and have been able to uh to catch up

1:02:47on

1:02:50>> and I know this this past couple of

1:02:52years uh we've seen uh a lot of work

1:02:56done to uh public areas, green spaces,

1:03:01parks, other places with with grant

1:03:04funding. And we know that's all going to

1:03:05dry up that th those COVID funds and

1:03:09other funds that were coming down are

1:03:11just not going to be there. So, how are

1:03:13we situated going forward to maintain

1:03:16what we've what we've done? We've we've

1:03:18got I I think and I am um

1:03:21unapologetically will say I don't know

1:03:24of another city that has better parks

1:03:27and playgrounds than we do. I have

1:03:29friends and relatives who come in and

1:03:31visit um from Riverside to Rumford. some

1:03:34of our parks, especially the new Kent

1:03:36Field park, and they are they are amazed

1:03:41at how how nice it is. Are we situated

1:03:44well enough to maintain them now that we

1:03:48we we've got them mostly done? I know

1:03:49there's some more work to be done, of

1:03:51course, but how how are we for

1:03:54maintenance?

1:03:55>> Yeah, we're in good shape. I mean you

1:03:57from from some of the increases you will

1:03:59see um in this budget um you know we are

1:04:02carrying some additional cost in um

1:04:05purchase professional services along

1:04:07with um with the water line item um so

1:04:11obviously with the increase of splash

1:04:12pads there is some increased cost with

1:04:15um you know water purchasing water uh

1:04:18for those so between um you know with

1:04:22the increases that we're requesting we

1:04:25feel comfortable

1:04:26continuing to maintain um and you know

1:04:30remaining in line with what we've

1:04:31historically spent to continue.

1:04:34>> Sure. And don't get me wrong, I'm not

1:04:36looking for Disney like parks here. I

1:04:39understand uh drought weather, other

1:04:42kinds of weather. We're going to see

1:04:43weeds and things and fields and parks.

1:04:45It happens happens all our yards. It

1:04:48happens in streets and you know, you

1:04:51guys get to it at some point. Arguably,

1:04:54Council President, I think our grass and

1:04:56turf has not looked uh better than it

1:04:59has in the last few years. Um you know,

1:05:02with with the council's um you know,

1:05:05approval over the last few years, we've

1:05:07made significant increases to um some of

1:05:10our budget line items that have allowed

1:05:12us to put money back into these athletic

1:05:14fields. So, that's certainly helped.

1:05:16Could you um just briefly talk about uh

1:05:20the whole Pierce Stadium complex? Uh we

1:05:23know now that our high school plays

1:05:26football, baseball, softball, soccer at

1:05:29the high school complex for the most

1:05:31part and yet Pierce Field still seems to

1:05:34be used a lot and is getting improved.

1:05:36And can you just update us quickly on on

1:05:40the updates there? It is Pierce Pierce

1:05:43uh Stadium. Not only the stadium, but

1:05:45all of the uh ball fields are used

1:05:47regularly throughout um the season. Um

1:05:50as everyone's likely aware, we we do

1:05:53have a a major improvement project at

1:05:55the stadium um that has started

1:05:57construction as of a few weeks ago. Um

1:06:00the the stadium will receive a brand new

1:06:03track uh jump pit to um supplement some

1:06:07needs from the school department um

1:06:08along with a bit more of uh

1:06:12multi-purpose areas in in the um end

1:06:15zones to allow for you know different

1:06:17events um and and other things like

1:06:20that. Additionally um as you as you're

1:06:23likely all aware because you've approved

1:06:24it um the softball field will be

1:06:27receiving uh field lights. Those lights

1:06:29are on order um and expected to be

1:06:32delivered to the uh electrical

1:06:34contractor within the next month or so.

1:06:36Um so if people have probably noticed

1:06:38there has been some movement around the

1:06:40uh softball field. They ideally will

1:06:43begin uh work on that project and

1:06:45hopefully have it complete uh before we

1:06:48receive any snow. That that that was my

1:06:51my next question cuz about once a week

1:06:53some of the girls teams will will call

1:06:56me call all of us and say you you did

1:06:58promise us lights right? I said they're

1:07:00coming they're coming. Uh my final

1:07:03comment would be uh a commenation for

1:07:07what highway and parks and anyone else

1:07:09who worked with you did through this uh

1:07:11recent snowstorm. Um people claim it was

1:07:15the biggest snowstorm that anybody can

1:07:18remember. I still think 78 is up there,

1:07:20but um yeah, not anymore, I guess. But

1:07:25to make a quick comparison, in 78, which

1:07:28had less snow

1:07:30in my house, in front of my house

1:07:32anyway, it was 3 weeks before I saw a

1:07:34plow. We we I couldn't move. I I had to

1:07:37walk miles to work. I was managing a a

1:07:40store then, a market, and I had to walk

1:07:43miles, hours. this storm with two days I

1:07:48saw plows and you know things are never

1:07:50perfect. It was a big storm but you did

1:07:52a great job and so did the women and men

1:07:55in the department.

1:07:56>> Thank you. I mean you said it perfectly.

1:07:58The men and women of EPW were

1:08:02there for hours on end um working

1:08:05through that storm and I I give them a

1:08:07lot of credit

1:08:07>> and and I'm not here just to throw you

1:08:09roses. I mean, if I saw a problem, I'

1:08:11i'd say it. But in this world we live in

1:08:14today, I I didn't see a major problem

1:08:16with with what we've just went through.

1:08:20>> Any other No, I agree. the uh in the

1:08:24last three years the improvements that

1:08:26we were able to do at Kimblean Rock on

1:08:29Park Glenn line

1:08:32you have

1:08:34helped the community of ward one as well

1:08:37as you know's park the improvements of

1:08:41the fields in ward one have not been

1:08:45this way in 35 years they hadn't been

1:08:48touched and they're touched now all

1:08:51three all four complexes

1:08:54uh state-of-the-art

1:08:57and more to come.

1:09:02>> How's the equipment?

1:09:04>> Good. We've been we've been fortunate

1:09:06enough within the last few years to um

1:09:09you know to purchase some

1:09:10>> equipment stockpile goods, salt good.

1:09:12>> Yeah, we're in good shape. Yep. Yep.

1:09:14>> Great job on the streets. Everything's

1:09:16coming together. Takes time, patience,

1:09:18but good job. Thank you. for the chair.

1:09:22>> Yes, councilwoman, please.

1:09:23>> Just to clarify um on some of the line

1:09:25items um under supplies and property.

1:09:29So, the repair um that talks to roads um

1:09:33and storm drainage, is is that just

1:09:36regular repairs like the 150 just

1:09:39sporadic potholes that we're filling and

1:09:41patching? Not anything to do with our

1:09:44paving program that's in a separate um

1:09:47area in the

1:09:47>> Yeah. Um typically the repairs to roads

1:09:50line item is used for um anything from

1:09:53pothole repairs to uh sidewalk

1:09:57repairs uh yeah anything anything

1:10:00related to ro curbing uh resetting.

1:10:04>> Okay. And then the

1:10:05>> similarly for storm drains

1:10:06>> drains right. And then secondly, um the

1:10:09line item that speaks to nursery

1:10:11supplies. Um there was a conversation

1:10:13with the uh tree commission in wanting

1:10:17um some information about if we were

1:10:19allocating this year additional funds

1:10:22for tree planting. I know there was

1:10:24significant funding through a grant for

1:10:27various areas throughout the city that

1:10:29were in need, not in need of trees, but

1:10:31that fell under that national urban. Um,

1:10:34but this one, just so I'm correct, this

1:10:36just falls the nursery line item just

1:10:38falls for like regular plants that we

1:10:40see in the pots around the city and at

1:10:43the city playgrounds or the carousel,

1:10:46city hall, things like that.

1:10:47>> Yeah. So, this nursery uh line item is

1:10:50where we purchase plants as you

1:10:51mentioned. Um, we also purchase uh mulch

1:10:56for playgrounds, so on and so forth.

1:10:58This is kind of a a catchall for general

1:11:00expenses throughout

1:11:02>> throughout the uh parks. We did um in

1:11:05this year's budget um under purchase

1:11:08professional services there is a line

1:11:09item there um and an allocation for um

1:11:13tree services and tree uh planting. So

1:11:17you will see that broken out separately

1:11:20and that is uh

1:11:2475,000 of the of the

1:11:27>> of the 120

1:11:28>> was the 175

1:11:30>> of the 175 75 is for tree planting

1:11:34outside of that general

1:11:36>> correct?

1:11:39>> Yeah, it's it's um removal, pruning,

1:11:42tree m general tree maintenance um as

1:11:45well as planting.

1:11:47So the seven the 175 is for all of that,

1:11:50the maintenance, the planting, the

1:11:52trimming.

1:11:53>> No, the one the 175 includes um if you

1:11:56look at the itemized section there um so

1:11:58there there's costs associated with um

1:12:02compost processing at the land at the uh

1:12:04Forb Street compost facility. So all the

1:12:07yard waste we receive um we have to

1:12:09routinely

1:12:11uh pulverize that and turn it into

1:12:13compost. Um, so there's costs associated

1:12:15with that. Um [clears throat] we have a

1:12:18$18,000 line item there for um painting

1:12:22supplies and and machine subscription uh

1:12:25tree planting at the 75,000 and then

1:12:28additional 52,000 for um you know

1:12:32everything from general pond treatments

1:12:34at Willlet Pond

1:12:37um kettle point to irrigation repairs

1:12:41you know

1:12:42>> general subcontractor um requirements

1:12:45throughout the year that we can't

1:12:46necessarily do in house.

1:12:48>> Okay. Thank you.

1:12:49>> Thank you. I do have

1:12:50>> I got one issue.

1:12:52We about a year ago we talked about this

1:12:56uh the compost, you know, extending the

1:12:59compost what Brian Queen did at Myron

1:13:02Francis and I think that we when we were

1:13:05talking you mentioned a company called

1:13:08Black uh I forget the name Black, you

1:13:12know, black somebody that also is doing

1:13:16Bington. Where are we with that with

1:13:19>> Yeah, so we're working with that

1:13:20company. Um, so in order to in order to

1:13:24create a city-wide composting program,

1:13:26we need to have enough buyin throughout

1:13:28the community um and interest for them

1:13:31to be willing to bring uh barrels to

1:13:34residential homes. Um, so we're working

1:13:36with them to create

1:13:38essentially a platform or survey that we

1:13:40will be able to send out to the

1:13:41residents um to show interest. if

1:13:45they're interested and they have enough

1:13:46people interested in doing it, then we

1:13:49can ultimately sign on with this company

1:13:51to collect compost throughout the city.

1:13:55>> Yes. I mean, that that's been going on

1:13:57for about a year now, right? Six months

1:13:59to a year that you've been talking with

1:14:00them about give or

1:14:02>> I'm not sure if it's been a year, but it

1:14:04has been a little bit of time. Yeah.

1:14:06Yep. So, we can certainly get you an

1:14:07update.

1:14:08>> Do you think by June or July of next

1:14:11year that maybe this system goes live?

1:14:14Um I'd have to reach out to the company

1:14:16to find out if we can do that but can

1:14:20certainly let you know.

1:14:21>> Thank you.

1:14:23do have two last um questions, comment

1:14:27and a question uh along the lines of

1:14:30compost but in a different realm. There

1:14:33there has been a a little community

1:14:35discussion very little about the cost of

1:14:39a few compost

1:14:41bathrooms that we've installed and I was

1:14:45involved in a lot of that in the

1:14:47beginning when looking for ways one of

1:14:49the to provide bathroom facility at our

1:14:53parks and playgrounds and our schools.

1:14:56Uh, one of the biggest complaints that

1:14:58I've received is it's it's a different

1:15:01world today um

1:15:05than than sports were years ago when we

1:15:08had no bathroom facilities, nothing at

1:15:10all. And I I won't even joke about what

1:15:13the the kids at Ken Heights Field did

1:15:16when they they had to run in the

1:15:18bathroom between innings and there were

1:15:20woods nearby. Um, ideally we we would

1:15:24like to see I mean Kim Rock feel has a

1:15:26nice complex. I think the little league

1:15:29was was uh responsible for building a

1:15:32lot of that but it was a solid cinder

1:15:34block building running water plumbing

1:15:37connected to a sewer but we can't do

1:15:39that in a lot of places. Some of the

1:15:41little leak fields at Pierce were not

1:15:43near sewer lines water lines. So there

1:15:47were these developed compost units. They

1:15:50are not portagons. They are permanent.

1:15:54They are bathrooms. They are permanent

1:15:57structure. They they have a um disposal

1:16:01system. Has to be cleaned out just a

1:16:04couple or three times a a year. Uh

1:16:07they're spacious. They're handicapped

1:16:09accessible. Uh they're they're clean.

1:16:12Um, it's not like going into a full

1:16:17bathroom with running water, but it it

1:16:20works. So, they're not portagons.

1:16:22They're they're permanent uh facilities,

1:16:26and it it helps um in areas where

1:16:30there's no other access. And

1:16:32>> I think most importantly, council

1:16:33president, to to note on those

1:16:35facilities are approved by DEM. They're

1:16:39the only actual

1:16:42structure that is approved and permitted

1:16:44by DEM.

1:16:46>> So [clears throat]

1:16:47yes,

1:16:48>> someone could build a 8 by8 shed and for

1:16:53much cheaper than what it was purchased

1:16:56for, there are running components within

1:16:58these

1:16:59structures that are permitted and

1:17:02approved for waste. Mhm. Isn't there a

1:17:06solar panel that helps do something with

1:17:08the

1:17:09>> Yeah, there's a panel that powers um

1:17:12essentially a vent fan to make them

1:17:14odorless. Um you know, and in some cases

1:17:16we've had some issues with um odor at

1:17:19some of these and reached out to the

1:17:20company and they've come in to assist

1:17:22the city in ensuring

1:17:23>> um you know, the

1:17:25>> microbial process within these tanks is

1:17:29you know breaking down the right way. So

1:17:32there there are

1:17:33>> and you make a good point, they are in a

1:17:35lot of state parks throughout the state.

1:17:37It's it's one of the things that that is

1:17:39being done. Uh finally, um for the folks

1:17:43that have reached out to me and I've

1:17:45gone there often and I think several of

1:17:47us have, can you give us an update on

1:17:50Dewey Avenue, the dealing with that

1:17:53flooding situation? I know and the mayor

1:17:55was telling me the other day there's

1:17:57possible plan um to that sounded like it

1:18:01had some potential.

1:18:02>> Yes. So the city council approved a few

1:18:05months back um an amendment to Fussen

1:18:07O'Neal's contract for uh citywide

1:18:10flooding assessment. So they they've

1:18:13we've worked on we've essentially

1:18:16modeled all of the areas um in question

1:18:19you know specifically do we have is one

1:18:22of those. Um now what we've done with

1:18:24that amendment is they're working

1:18:25towards actually developing um palatable

1:18:28plans that the city can ultimately go

1:18:31out to bid or potentially do some

1:18:33improvements within uh the right of way

1:18:35internally you know whether it's highway

1:18:38or a subcontractor um to make

1:18:40improvements to some of those areas. So

1:18:42we are still working with that

1:18:44consultant to come up with a roadmap but

1:18:47we will be before the city council to

1:18:49provide update uh hopefully soon.

1:18:51>> Okay. Thank you. Other questions from

1:18:54the council? Is there anyone from the

1:18:55public like to um make a comment or ask

1:18:59a question of presentation we've just

1:19:02heard or something to do with highways

1:19:05and parks?

1:19:06Come forward and name and address,

1:19:10but I know it anyways. Nancy Hail,

1:19:12Riverside.

1:19:15>> Thank you.

1:19:17>> Hello.

1:19:18>> Yes, you're on.

1:19:22Um, I'm not really a numbers person, but

1:19:25I do have some questions for um, Dan,

1:19:29mostly about arborist and tree trimming.

1:19:32But before that, um, I just want to say

1:19:40overall we must realize that developing

1:19:43a large, vibrant, growing, diverse city

1:19:45with great schools, libraries, lovely

1:19:47parks, and free concerts

1:19:50cannot be done by operating on a

1:19:52shoestring budget like a startup

1:19:54nonprofit. Mayor Dilva is understanding

1:19:58the big business aspect of city

1:20:00operations revenue and creating budget

1:20:02for budgets for so much that can be

1:20:06unpredictable.

1:20:08The city of East Providence needs

1:20:10adequate police and fire departments

1:20:12without relying too much on services

1:20:14from neighboring communities.

1:20:17Mayor Dilva has um and this

1:20:20administration, this council has

1:20:22experienced managing incredible

1:20:25unprecedented circumstances, including

1:20:28the pandemic, the Washington Bridge

1:20:31closure, all while becoming the first

1:20:33mayor of a city, rewriting its city

1:20:36charter, as well as the comprehensive

1:20:38plan.

1:20:41I think we re need to recognize that

1:20:44East Providence didn't just get through

1:20:47all that. Under current leadership, East

1:20:51Providence,

1:20:52although the process was not always

1:20:55pretty, East Providence is looking good

1:20:57and feeling safer thanks to our awesome

1:21:00Department of Public Works and Police

1:21:01Force. That being said, I see one of our

1:21:05most unpredictable issues is related to

1:21:08severe weather events which fall to the

1:21:12Department of Public Works and the

1:21:14police department. In July of 2025,

1:21:17there was whatever weird wind event

1:21:20which seemed to be a tornado around my

1:21:22house.

1:21:24Whatever it was, it wasn't so good and

1:21:26there were a lot of trees down. And then

1:21:29within eight months, that's only eight

1:21:31months, we had the severe,

1:21:33record-breaking

1:21:34blizzard of 26.

1:21:37That's two environmental unpredictable

1:21:41mother nature events in only eight

1:21:43months.

1:21:45So, um,

1:21:50I'm out of notes. Um, I agree with the

1:21:53empty school bus issue. I see a lot of

1:21:56them and I've been thinking about that

1:21:57for years. So I there must be a

1:22:00solution.

1:22:01Um as far that's the you know I don't

1:22:04know what it is.

1:22:07Uh and for the arborist situation I'm

1:22:10just wondering because there's a lot of

1:22:11tree issues that I've noticed

1:22:13um gigantic branches about ready to

1:22:16collapse on wires. Uh tree growing

1:22:19through the pavement about onethird of

1:22:21the tree roots which make it difficult

1:22:24to um for snow plowing. So,

1:22:28um, do we really have enough tree

1:22:31trimming, arborist, whatever, you know,

1:22:33whatever you want to say. I would like

1:22:36to see the budgets for Department of

1:22:38Public Works and Police Force. If

1:22:39anything, make the mistake of being

1:22:41overbudgeted.

1:22:43Then, if you have leftover when when the

1:22:45year's over, you can give it to this,

1:22:46you know, somewhere else.

1:22:49I would like to know that our Department

1:22:51of Public Works is not operating through

1:22:54major weather events on taking naps, you

1:22:57know, and eating snacks and sleeping

1:23:00wherever, you know, before, you know,

1:23:02and working for days and days and days

1:23:04on that,

1:23:07>> but it's unpredictable. That's the whole

1:23:09the whole that's the whole issue.

1:23:12>> Director, if you can find a question in

1:23:14there, you

1:23:15>> It's about the arborist. The question is

1:23:16the arborist and tree trimming.

1:23:19>> Do we have adequate staff to address the

1:23:22trees? Is that the question?

1:23:24>> Well,

1:23:26I know that I have a neighbor who's

1:23:28called and called and called about a

1:23:30tree kind of hanging over a storm drain.

1:23:33I know of some other tree problems. I

1:23:35haven't called yet, but

1:23:38yeah, we certainly deal with tree issues

1:23:41as they they come. We have we do have a

1:23:43long list of maintenance needs on trees.

1:23:46Um take care of trees and

1:23:49high priority issues or hazardous issues

1:23:52are obviously always first. Um we we do

1:23:54have a backlog of of tree maintenance

1:23:57needs. Um but as part of this budget, we

1:24:01are allocating funds to hopefully assist

1:24:04in eliminating that list. Okay. So, is

1:24:07there this I I didn't look at the

1:24:09numbers. Excuse me. But does this year

1:24:11have a little bit more for tree trimming

1:24:13and arborists and tree

1:24:15>> Yes.

1:24:16>> Okay. Great.

1:24:19>> Nothing but compliments.

1:24:20>> Thank you. Thank you, Nancy.

1:24:23By the way, I was remissed in not

1:24:25introducing the solicitor tonight, uh,

1:24:28solicitor Vodilado, who is here. Um, our

1:24:32our regular solicitor is also under the

1:24:35weather.

1:24:37So, thank you for being here.

1:24:41Other questions from those here on

1:24:44Highway Parks

1:24:47Public Works

1:24:49hearing? None. Thank you, director, and

1:24:51staff for your time tonight. We'll we'll

1:24:55have a few more of these sessions, I'm

1:24:57sure. Thank you. Next, we will move on

1:25:01to the public safety

1:25:04portion of the workshop. The police

1:25:06department and fire department. Uh,

1:25:12according to the docket, police

1:25:13department, you're up first.

1:25:25Thank you, Chief and Deputy Chief. So

1:25:28whenever you're settled, you can

1:25:30proceed.

1:25:31>> Thank you. Thank you, councel. Uh

1:25:32appreciate uh you having us up here

1:25:35tonight so we can explain some of these

1:25:36changes to our budget and uh looking

1:25:38forward to

1:25:40it's wrapped up.

1:25:43>> You have a general summary or I sure do.

1:25:46>> Sure. Go ahead, please.

1:25:48>> So overall, uh the largest uh increase

1:25:51in our budget is going to be on the

1:25:54salary line item. uh this year will be

1:25:56the first year of the contract where our

1:25:59uh IBPO officers will be receiving an

1:26:01increase in their salary. Uh there are

1:26:04some uh some other increases in the

1:26:06detail pay line item uh that's just

1:26:08going up because of the revenue that

1:26:10we're receiving. Um

1:26:14also there is a a larger increase on the

1:26:18um

1:26:21the excuse me

1:26:27the professional services

1:26:30uh that that was increased by $25,000.

1:26:32That was for a lot of uh services that

1:26:35we're that we're involved in for um

1:26:38different things within the station. Um

1:26:41different contracts with pest control,

1:26:44uh trauma 24, which cleans up biohazard

1:26:47waste. Um

1:26:50there's also some other uh increases in

1:26:53there for a wellness program that that's

1:26:55been implemented into the into the

1:26:56department.

1:26:59We have uh a larger increase in our

1:27:03telecommunications uh because of an

1:27:05increase in phones that have been placed

1:27:07in our cruisers. All of the officers

1:27:10have access to cellular phones that are

1:27:14used with all of our evidence

1:27:16documentation and um it's all

1:27:19cloud-based on that end.

1:27:23Uh there's a local uh pension increases.

1:27:27Also, uh technology software is was

1:27:30increased by $100,000. We are going to

1:27:32be uh looking for a new computerated

1:27:36dispatch uh program along with our

1:27:39records management records management

1:27:41system. Those are going to be a a

1:27:44relatively large

1:27:46increase. Hopefully this year we can uh

1:27:49join all the other cities and towns in

1:27:51Rhode Island and uh you know get on

1:27:53board with in updating our our well

1:27:57overdue or well uh highly needed um

1:28:01technology uh items.

1:28:06Um

1:28:07and um

1:28:10that's that's pretty much it. There's

1:28:12only just there's a couple other small

1:28:14adjustments that um that are increased

1:28:17just with you know increase in in in

1:28:20materials and things of that sort.

1:28:25>> I know through the the year um past

1:28:28couple of years you've received um some

1:28:31good uh vehicles mostly either asset

1:28:34forfeite or or or grants. Are we in good

1:28:37shape with our uh vehicle fleet?

1:28:42Yes. Yes, we are. We we received nine

1:28:44vehicles uh later. Uh it's actually ear

1:28:47earlier this year. Um we put those on

1:28:50the road. Those are being those are

1:28:52replacing the older um kind of tired

1:28:55vehicles that we had. Those are all

1:28:58purchased through asset forfeite. Not a

1:29:00not a uh a scent was charged to the the

1:29:04tax creators of East Providence. um

1:29:07that's been kind of going on for many

1:29:10many years. Uh we do have to be careful

1:29:12with uh supplanting our budget um and

1:29:15always purchasing vehicles with asset

1:29:17forfeite money. And that's why over the

1:29:19last several years we've been able to

1:29:20purchase uh I think uh three vehicles

1:29:24through our capital uh with office.

1:29:27That's uh something that we we must do.

1:29:29we must maintain um so we don't get into

1:29:32any trouble with the federal government

1:29:33and um have our our assets uh freezed uh

1:29:36frozen

1:29:38or taken away.

1:29:40>> Are we nearly fully staffed?

1:29:43>> Uh you know we keep we keep trying. Uh

1:29:47we we just uh lost a seasoned officer

1:29:51last last uh week. Uh we lost another

1:29:54female detective um to both two

1:29:57retirements and we have four in the

1:29:59academy and hopefully get a nice group

1:30:01in the January academy. Uh we are 84

1:30:05right now. We should be around 95. Uh

1:30:08we're going to hopefully get to that

1:30:09number with uh hopefully a couple

1:30:11lateral transfers mixed in the in there

1:30:13as well.

1:30:13>> Has there been an impact on overtime in

1:30:16the budget because of the being less

1:30:19than full staffed? uh the the overtime

1:30:23um holes are being plugged with uh some

1:30:25of our newer officers. Um so it it is

1:30:28decreasing slightly but obviously with

1:30:30the increases in salaries that's going

1:30:32to go up a little bit this year.

1:30:33>> Sure.

1:30:35>> My aliola question is is there or has

1:30:39there been something taken out of the

1:30:41budget that that you feel is is a

1:30:44problem for public safety? Is there some

1:30:48glaring

1:30:50uh deficit in the budget? I don't mean a

1:30:52money deficit. I mean a an item or major

1:30:56staff position or

1:30:59public safety is in good hands.

1:31:02>> It's in great hands with the uh the men

1:31:03and women do a great job uh within the

1:31:05police department. um you know if there

1:31:08is uh you know a void somewhere because

1:31:11of a temporary uh opening due to

1:31:14promotions everybody steps up and takes

1:31:17care of of the issue. Uh there is

1:31:19nothing in the budget that we've had to

1:31:20take out um that would affect any type

1:31:23of uh service that we provide to to the

1:31:25city. Well, I I certainly appreciate I I

1:31:28think we all do. Uh yourself, the

1:31:30deputy, you're seen all over the city,

1:31:33uh popping into public events, uh social

1:31:36events, uh just being a presence. The

1:31:39other day I was at an event with a

1:31:41police officer patrolman on duty. Just

1:31:44pulled in and I said, "Hi, is there a

1:31:46problem?" So, no, no, I just wanted to

1:31:48say hello to the folks and walk around

1:31:50and be seen. And um then he went on his

1:31:53way. it was patrol and it's kind of

1:31:56force that this community um

1:31:58appreciates.

1:32:00>> Yeah, our officers do a great job uh

1:32:02every single day and we're uh we're

1:32:04really getting out there. We got

1:32:05[clears throat] a lot of initiatives

1:32:06coming up with the schools and uh you

1:32:09know different programs, nonprofits that

1:32:11uh really try to get us out there into

1:32:13the public and kind

1:32:14>> Well, that and that I meant to ask are

1:32:16we fully staffed with school resource

1:32:18officers in the secondary schools

1:32:21anyway? So we are uh contractually

1:32:23required to have three school resource

1:32:26officers and we have four right now um

1:32:28to to kind of address the uh the need.

1:32:32We we have uh we we have a really good

1:32:35relationship with the all the all the

1:32:37schools and all the principles. Each

1:32:38school has a school ambassador officer

1:32:41outside of the SRO's, excuse

1:32:42[clears throat] me. And uh there were

1:32:45there is we saw that there was a need to

1:32:47continue moving on with that fourth

1:32:49officer uh in the schools and and again

1:32:51they those uh those officers do a great

1:32:53job especially at the high school with

1:32:55such a big building.

1:32:56>> Are we able to do any reach out to the

1:32:58elementary schools at times?

1:33:00>> Absolutely. Yes. So uh outside of the

1:33:02SRO's uh we do have school ambassadors.

1:33:05So the school ambassadors are those

1:33:06officers that are

1:33:07>> okay

1:33:08>> to those uh those areas or those those

1:33:10posts. Uh so each school uh does have a

1:33:14school ambassador that that also applies

1:33:16to uh our private institutions as well.

1:33:20>> Thank you. Uh any other questions from

1:33:22the council? Councilwoman,

1:33:24>> just a quick question. The SRO officers,

1:33:26where are they in the whose budget are

1:33:28they in? Because I don't see them in the

1:33:29FTS in your budget.

1:33:31>> They're they're part of our budget. All

1:33:33four. Who

1:33:34>> what title? What position name? Because

1:33:36they're not listed as SRO.

1:33:41patrol officers.

1:33:42>> They're under patroller.

1:33:44>> Yes. I'm sorry. They operate just

1:33:46regular patrol officers that are that

1:33:48are given that title.

1:33:50>> Um that's another question. Okay. Um do

1:33:53we have it? So we're anticipating

1:33:56potential laterals coming over hopefully

1:33:58within the next fiscal year. Um and I

1:34:01know uh historically the police

1:34:03department has had signon bonuses. Um,

1:34:06do what is the amount that you have in

1:34:08your budget allocated for sign on

1:34:10bonuses?

1:34:11>> Right now, uh, we have under our

1:34:13stipens. Um, it's normally where it was

1:34:16coming out of. We have $38,000. It's a

1:34:20$7,500 sign on bonus or a lateral

1:34:23transfer. Um, and that's spread out over

1:34:27several years. It's not it's not a

1:34:28one-time, you know, once they get here.

1:34:30It's it's uh over a three-year period.

1:34:33>> So, what would the rest of the stipens

1:34:34be for? Uh there's different stipens

1:34:37that we get for um

1:34:39uh we have a language stipen for

1:34:42officers that speak multiple languages.

1:34:44Um there are um clo clothing clothing uh

1:34:48clothing stipens.

1:34:50Um

1:34:53off the top of my head I I can't think.

1:34:54>> So that would be well that would be

1:34:56apart from the uniform and apparel.

1:34:58Correct.

1:34:58>> So yeah the uniform and apparel that's

1:35:00that's more for our onboarding our

1:35:02officers. those uh those uniforms are

1:35:04extremely expensive uh each

1:35:06>> contractually we have that

1:35:07>> correct that's correct yes and they and

1:35:09they and just the academy uniforms just

1:35:11to get them through the academy it's

1:35:13quite a bit

1:35:16>> and then I noticed that the projected um

1:35:19camera uh for the next budget is a

1:35:22million less than what we had budgeted

1:35:24for last year. Is that correct?

1:35:25>> Yes, that's correct. Uh obviously that's

1:35:27one of the larger uh changes as well.

1:35:29So, uh, the cameras are working. Um,

1:35:32that's the desired outcome, I guess you

1:35:34could say. And, you know, from that

1:35:36three and a half down to two and a half.

1:35:38>> Um,

1:35:40that's that's what that changes for.

1:35:42>> Okay. And last, and I hope that that we

1:35:44we do get a larger academy next year um

1:35:47when you go out for it, but we're

1:35:49currently at 84 and that includes the

1:35:52two retirees not in the picture or are

1:35:55they included in that 84? That's we're

1:35:57at 84 with with technically one one

1:36:00person is uh just kind of using some of

1:36:02her time right now. Um so we're right

1:36:05with that with uh Captain Catar we're at

1:36:0784. We do have four in the academy right

1:36:10now that'll be wrapping up uh just

1:36:11before Christmas time.

1:36:12>> Okay. [clears throat]

1:36:14>> So and then you're uh budgeted for 98

1:36:18FTEES.

1:36:22So is that we're anticipating having

1:36:25either a larger group or more laterals.

1:36:27That'll be 10 extra positions.

1:36:32>> That's admin as well,

1:36:34>> right? The whole

1:36:35>> Yes.

1:36:35>> Okay. So the admin is not included in

1:36:37the 84.

1:36:38>> No. No, it's not.

1:36:40>> No, I'm sorry.

1:36:41>> All right. Perfect. Thank you.

1:36:42>> 84 84 sworn officers.

1:36:44>> Okay. We are a sworn officer, are you

1:36:45not, Chief? [laughter]

1:36:47>> You should count yourself. All right.

1:36:49Thank you.

1:36:50>> Thank you, Councilwoman. uh council vice

1:36:52president.

1:36:53>> So the cameras are working as far as

1:36:56it's slowing down. There's less people

1:36:58getting tickets.

1:37:00>> So that's that's how it's tracking.

1:37:01>> And I know one thing that the mayor was

1:37:03not happy with me about a year and a

1:37:05half ago when we passed the when we

1:37:08passed the ordinance resolution

1:37:11putting up the Lincoln lights

1:37:14and the signs that if you're getting a

1:37:17ticket, you're you're not really paying

1:37:20attention. Correct. I mean, would you

1:37:22call these speed cameras speed traps now

1:37:25with all the advanced notice?

1:37:29>> Personally, no. No, the speed limits are

1:37:31posted. Um,

1:37:32>> lights are blinking.

1:37:34>> Correct. That's just an extra an added

1:37:36warning for those that may not be paying

1:37:38attention to the posted speed limits.

1:37:40>> Yep. A speed trap to me would be going

1:37:44down a hill, the speed limit says it's

1:37:4735 and at the end it drops to 30 and

1:37:51that police officer is sitting there

1:37:53getting a ticket like you see in the you

1:37:56see in TV or that's a speed trap.

1:38:00>> That's that's typically what I would

1:38:02>> consider a speed trap. Correct. Not what

1:38:04we have in the city of East Province.

1:38:07>> Thank you. Any

1:38:10other comments from the council? Uh

1:38:13comments or questions

1:38:15from anyone here regarding uh police

1:38:18public safety?

1:38:23Once again, any other comments,

1:38:25questions from anyone here? We'll close

1:38:28this section. Uh Chief, Deputy Chief,

1:38:31thank you your presentation. We'll do

1:38:33our best.

1:38:34>> I appreciate it and and I do appreciate

1:38:35the council. This past year has been

1:38:37kind of a a whirlwind and uh you guys

1:38:40have made it a lot easier to you know

1:38:42bring what we need to the city u and the

1:38:45service the best

1:38:46>> and and just anecdotally you know the

1:38:49bridge we all inherited that issue and I

1:38:54was there the day the bridge closed the

1:38:57mayor called me and said we have a

1:38:59problem.

1:39:00I went over to the command center. The

1:39:03police were there and fire and state

1:39:06police. Chief Carrie was there and I

1:39:10just stood in the background. You know,

1:39:11it was my role to just um be available

1:39:15and and and

1:39:17observe and helpful if the council could

1:39:19and you really managed it well. Now, I

1:39:22know all the complaints and I know the

1:39:24problems it led to and I know what

1:39:26happened the governor's race and all of

1:39:28that, but we didn't cause any of these

1:39:32problems. We inherited this bridge

1:39:33problem and your your staff,

1:39:37fire department trying to move people in

1:39:39and out, getting to hospitals. Uh, it's

1:39:42it's been a nightmare. It's starting to

1:39:44get a little better, but um, thank you

1:39:46for your your patience. I know the

1:39:48motorists are not patient. They're

1:39:50they're mad at us. They're mad at you.

1:39:53They're mad at everybody about it. Um,

1:39:56but you you and the women and men of the

1:40:00police department and the fire service

1:40:02also have really um responded well. Just

1:40:06like DPW did to the snowstorm, you guys

1:40:09did to the bridge. And

1:40:10>> this is one big snowstorm.

1:40:12>> Yes. Never ending.

1:40:14>> I appreciate the com I appreciate the

1:40:15comments.

1:40:16>> Yes. Thank you. We'll move on now to the

1:40:18uh fire department.

1:40:31>> Chief, thank you for coming. When you

1:40:33get settled, you can uh pres make your

1:40:36presentation.

1:40:38>> Um good evening, council members. If you

1:40:42look at my budget from last year to this

1:40:44year, it increased 44,000.

1:40:47Uh basically that is the 3.5% raise.

1:40:50That affects salaries, p um

1:40:55salaries, holiday pay, longevity.

1:40:59Um you saw the increase for the city for

1:41:01medical. That's part of the bump. We

1:41:03really didn't add anything this year. Um

1:41:08we will be running an academy again but

1:41:10they will not come on within this fiscal

1:41:12year. They will come in to the uh the

1:41:15next beginning of the next fiscal year.

1:41:18We still have we'll come into our third

1:41:20year and final year of the safer grant

1:41:22for the 12. Um but even with them the

1:41:26last nine that we just brought on the

1:41:27last academy we're still down uh four

1:41:30positions.

1:41:31So the budget does reflect that.

1:41:34if you have any questions. U

1:41:36>> could you elaborate on the safer grant

1:41:39and so this didn't cost us any any money

1:41:42put on these people but now we have to

1:41:45absorb positions or through attrition

1:41:48how will this uh bottom out?

1:41:50>> So through attrition is usually how it

1:41:53is done um depending on where we're at

1:41:55when we get to that point in time. Um, I

1:41:58know we have projected retirements u

1:42:01probably coming next spring. So, it

1:42:03might be close to being a wash with the

1:42:05next academy. If you notice that it

1:42:07takes us a year to 18 month 18 months to

1:42:10get the academy and get new hires on and

1:42:13start their probationary year.

1:42:16We literally have to hold seats for the

1:42:19next year in the Rhode Island Fire

1:42:21Academy just to get those spots and then

1:42:24it takes uh 13 weeks at the state, 10

1:42:28weeks with us before they even come on.

1:42:31>> So that that grant definitely benefited

1:42:34the city. It

1:42:35>> absolutely did. Um, it gave us a higher

1:42:38level of manpower. Uh, reduced the

1:42:41impact on people when it came to filling

1:42:43positions when we're when we don't have

1:42:46anybody out. Uh, we had the extra people

1:42:49on the trucks on occasion as part of the

1:42:52grant was was safety. Just having the

1:42:55personnel to draw from on for overtime

1:42:57shifts. You've seen in the past when

1:43:00we've been down a number of people and

1:43:02the impact it has on our personnel. By

1:43:04having this, it's it's buffered that.

1:43:07>> Great.

1:43:08>> Chief, can you just clarify how many was

1:43:11it? Nine or 12 that were in that?

1:43:12>> It was nine. 11 actually went to the

1:43:14academy. We tried to get 12. Um, and two

1:43:18had to be let go during the trainings.

1:43:21>> So, we have nine currently.

1:43:23>> Nine probationary firefighters. Yes. And

1:43:25do we know roughly what the estimated

1:43:27cost for those nine are

1:43:32>> probationary?

1:43:36>> Just so we have a rough idea of what

1:43:39we're looking at once that grant ends in

1:43:41the next fiscal year.

1:43:51So, this budget doesn't have any

1:43:52allocation for um the academy for the

1:43:562028 budget. Correct. It's we're going

1:43:58to be putting that in for next budget.

1:44:02>> The money is already in this this year's

1:44:03budget for the academy

1:44:05>> for the

1:44:05>> same as the previous year's.

1:44:06>> Okay. So, we are allocating

1:44:08>> for that academy.

1:44:08>> Okay.

1:44:11And while while you're looking up that

1:44:13uh data, um I would would say that if if

1:44:18anyone hasn't visited thesemies when

1:44:21they go on and they they're pretty

1:44:23lengthy. Um I I did have the uh occasion

1:44:28to to visit and it's uh quite an ordeal.

1:44:32they they can't all make it and it's

1:44:34it's military like it's very tough and

1:44:38boy did we get some great uh women and

1:44:40men that work here. They they have to be

1:44:43um medical as well as climbing a ladder

1:44:47for a for a fire and uh it's not your

1:44:52grandfather's fire department anymore.

1:44:54>> No, it absolutely is not. We we do fire,

1:44:57EMS, uh technical rescue, hazardous

1:45:00materials response, maritime response.

1:45:03We we do all four state um regional

1:45:06teams with our personnel. I I can't say

1:45:09enough about the men and women of our

1:45:10department, but they always step up,

1:45:12always looking for extra training and

1:45:14and give that extra 100%. Now, you

1:45:17mentioned the maritime uh with our

1:45:20increase in our waterfront, which for so

1:45:23many years, you know, had kind of been

1:45:26on the way side, but you know, we're

1:45:28doing some great things with the

1:45:29waterfront. Uh hoping to see more

1:45:31boating activity socially. Uh what do we

1:45:35have for um water emergencies? Do we

1:45:39have a fireboat still or

1:45:41>> So, we still have our fire boat. It's 34

1:45:43foot uh twin inboard jet diesels.

1:45:46>> And where do we keep that docked?

1:45:48>> It's down at the East Province Yach

1:45:49>> Yacht Club, right? Okay.

1:45:51>> That's part of the concert series. We

1:45:53were looking at a dock being built

1:45:55because there is no actually no

1:45:56municipal dock in the province river. If

1:45:59you look um we tried years ago um did

1:46:03have grant money but that was uh the

1:46:06years that the sitting council we got

1:46:08taken over by the commission and we lost

1:46:10the funding because we weren't allowed

1:46:11to act which I appreciate this council

1:46:14because anything we bring before y

1:46:16>> tends to be acted upon

1:46:18>> and can't say enough about the mayor

1:46:20always backing.

1:46:23>> Do you have that figure for the council

1:46:25woman? It's 96,000 for the the

1:46:28probationary officers that are coming

1:46:30out of the academy.

1:46:34>> Sorry, not the current that are under

1:46:36the SA grant.

1:46:38>> All right.

1:46:39>> So, the SAFE grant, they're they're in

1:46:41their second year and they've already

1:46:43seen two payraises. Uh they're going

1:46:46we're coming into the third year for

1:46:47them. But any new hires that we bring on

1:46:50like in the next academy that goes off

1:46:53based CB on the CBA and entry level.

1:46:55>> Okay.

1:46:57>> All right. And how many do we have

1:46:58currently on the force overall?

1:47:05>> Right. Including um civilian personnel,

1:47:08it's 127.

1:47:14So, this next class that's coming in,

1:47:17>> I'm sorry.

1:47:18>> That's okay. I just wanted to make sure.

1:47:19>> No, I'm good.

1:47:19>> Council, you all set? Okay. Council vice

1:47:22president.

1:47:23>> So, the next class that's coming in, the

1:47:25class of 20 28.

1:47:29>> Correct.

1:47:29>> Correct. So, we're going to start u the

1:47:32process of recruitment in October 1st, I

1:47:35believe,

1:47:36>> of this year. of this year

1:47:38>> by time we get through the academy.

1:47:39>> By the time we get through everything, I

1:47:41believe the academy seats that we have

1:47:42are are next January or February and

1:47:45then after the 23 weeks, we'll we'll be

1:47:48past October of next year.

1:47:51>> So

1:47:53with them coming on board, the class

1:47:55that just came on board.

1:47:57>> Yep.

1:47:58>> And obviously I uh safer grant group

1:48:03will still be where we need to be

1:48:05manpower-wise. Correct.

1:48:07>> Correct.

1:48:08>> So that safer grant group is just

1:48:11through attrition will be absorbed into

1:48:14the normal workforce of this fire

1:48:16department and keeping you at the

1:48:18staffing level that you need to do with

1:48:20the CBA

1:48:22dependent on uh where we're at when it

1:48:25comes time for the safer grant to end

1:48:27and that's up to the mayor. Um,

1:48:31I believe through attrition we should be

1:48:33facing a few retirements that we've

1:48:35looked at next year. Um, if they come

1:48:38into fruition, then it'll probably be a

1:48:40moot point by the time that next class

1:48:43comes on,

1:48:45but again, I don't have a crystal ball.

1:48:47I wish I did. [laughter]

1:48:48>> No. And and unfortunately in your

1:48:51department too, I hate to say it, but

1:48:54there's chance of injuries of any

1:48:56department in the city. Your department

1:48:59has the risk of having more

1:49:02injuries because of the nature of what

1:49:05you're dealing what your men and women

1:49:06are dealing with in a day in day out

1:49:08process.

1:49:09>> Agreed. But we do take every safety

1:49:10step.

1:49:11>> Well, yeah. I'm not saying you don't,

1:49:12but unfortunately,

1:49:14>> it's an inherently dangerous job. Yes.

1:49:16And so you got to factor that into a

1:49:20situation too.

1:49:21>> Agreed.

1:49:21>> And one other thing to uh that you

1:49:24didn't mention, but I think that your

1:49:26men and women are trained as well as the

1:49:30fire I mean the police department is the

1:49:32mental health aspect

1:49:35of your dealing with the with the

1:49:38public. Now

1:49:40>> you're the first people there is your

1:49:42your department does a great job dealing

1:49:45with mental health issues.

1:49:47>> Yes.

1:49:48>> And with the introduction of the

1:49:50situation table which I chair um between

1:49:52the police department, fire department,

1:49:54city workers, we have been you know

1:49:57getting services to people that need

1:49:58them and which has not happened. find

1:50:02the ones that are trailing off and it's

1:50:04a great and our our department is 100%

1:50:07on board with it.

1:50:10>> I'm talking about even what you do with

1:50:12the public.

1:50:14I mean your the response the response

1:50:17that your department does when they go

1:50:19into a situation. I've seen it firsthand

1:50:22where you know I was driving by uh I was

1:50:25down Taton Avenue and what you and the

1:50:27police department were doing. You were

1:50:30acting the role of social workers and

1:50:33talking to that person who you

1:50:36unfortunately was having a bad day for

1:50:38whatever reason. I don't know. But I

1:50:40commend your department as well as the

1:50:43uh police department. I've seen it

1:50:45firsthand a couple of times.

1:50:46>> I appreciate that. We train our

1:50:48personnel to treat everybody as if they

1:50:51were a member of a family and do the

1:50:53best that we can for who we encounter.

1:50:57>> Thank you. Councilman Fogy, you want to

1:51:00add anything substance? Thank you, sir.

1:51:03Um, yes.

1:51:04>> So, just a couple more um clarifying

1:51:07questions for the per uh professional

1:51:09services. Um, the 380,000

1:51:12similar to last year's allocation, what

1:51:14are we using that for? or professional

1:51:17services.

1:51:24>> So that pays for rescue billing. We pay

1:51:26the company that we do our third party

1:51:28billing through which is the larger

1:51:31portion of the revenue for the

1:51:32department. Uh ladder testing, pump

1:51:35testing, outside evaluations,

1:51:38uh the rest is all CBA requirements.

1:51:41But the outside testing, the NFPA

1:51:43testing for specified apparatus in order

1:51:46to meet standards, that's that's key for

1:51:49us when it comes to safety. And should

1:51:51anything happen in the future, it also

1:51:53backs us up and sports that yes, we

1:51:55follow the standards we're required to

1:51:57do.

1:51:58>> Makes sense. Thank you. And then under

1:52:00personal uh purchase property services,

1:52:03um you had a drop in your line item for

1:52:06training and conferences. Um, that's not

1:52:09training for the academy.

1:52:11>> No, that is not part of the academy. No,

1:52:13>> that's just

1:52:13>> it's outside training.

1:52:15>> Okay. So, you're you're seeing that you

1:52:18don't have a foresee a need for any of

1:52:20your men or women to need additional

1:52:22>> based on what we saw or what we've

1:52:24expended over the last two years, we

1:52:26were able to

1:52:27>> cut that

1:52:27>> a little bit.

1:52:28>> Okay. And then subsequently the

1:52:30unreimbured medical um we saw a

1:52:33significant jump in that line item.

1:52:35>> Yeah. That falls under the FTE. That's

1:52:37>> okay.

1:52:44>> That's it. Thank you.

1:52:45>> Thank you. Anyone here in the audience

1:52:49would like to ask question or comment

1:52:52about fire services in the budget.

1:53:02One more time. Anyone here?

1:53:05No. Hearing hearing none. Okay. Thank

1:53:07you, chief, and your staff. Um we will

1:53:10have other department heads and other

1:53:13departments at subsequent um work

1:53:17workshops. Um before we close out, um I

1:53:20would give u Mayor Dilva if you can be

1:53:24brief if you have a closing comment on

1:53:26your budget. It's not ours yet. It's

1:53:28your budget.

1:53:35This is always one of the most important

1:53:37things that we come together uh to craft

1:53:40as a budget. I said it earlier in the

1:53:42presentation that this really cautifies

1:53:46what we see as important for our

1:53:49community. Uh I do want to thank you all

1:53:51for taking the due diligence to have uh

1:53:54these budget hearings. I also want to

1:53:55thank all of the people behind me. uh

1:53:57these department heads were all here

1:53:59today. Even some of the ones who uh knew

1:54:01that they weren't going to be coming uh

1:54:04before you today, uh they're all here.

1:54:06and the incredible work that our city

1:54:08does. And I hear all the time and I

1:54:10heard it today from a lot of you

1:54:12recognizing the above and beyond service

1:54:15that they do, the community outreach

1:54:16that they do from the police department,

1:54:18from the fire department, um from DPW,

1:54:22all of these people behind me, their

1:54:24number one priority is to get quality

1:54:27services to our residents. And they can

1:54:30only do that if they have the resources

1:54:32available to them. resources. The number

1:54:34one resource that they have under their

1:54:36control are people, personal costs, the

1:54:38people that work day in and day out to

1:54:40support our city. So, I want to thank

1:54:42all of them for being here today. And I

1:54:44want to thank you and I look forward to

1:54:45the future uh hearings. Thank you.

1:54:48>> Thank you. And also thank you department

1:54:50heads. Um you you'll get grilled at

1:54:54later. Not that there was any grilling

1:54:55tonight. Is there a motion to adjurnn?

1:54:58>> Motion to adjurnn.

1:54:59>> Council Regal. Second by Councilwoman

1:55:01Souza. All in favor? I

1:55:03>> I any opposed workshop is adjourned.

1:55:06Thank you.

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