Finance Committee - Public Hearing - June 30th
Public Hearing Call to Order & Opening Remarks on FY2026 Budget
Chair Helen Anthony called the public hearing to order and introduced committee members and participating city councilors. She provided opening remarks outlining negotiated amendments to the mayor's proposed FY2026 budget, including changes to property tax classifications, school funding, and bulky waste collection.
Public Hearing - Public Comment on the FY2026 Budget
Members of the public testified regarding the proposed FY2026 budget, raising concerns about tax increases on multi-family properties, city spending, school department funding, and administrative salaries. Chair Anthony concluded the public hearing after all registered speakers had delivered their remarks.
Committee on Finance Meeting on the Rise - Call to Order & Roll Call
Chair Anthony called the Committee on Finance meeting on the rise to order and established a quorum with all five committee members present. The committee approved a procedural motion to waive the reading of agenda items one through four.
Agenda Item 5 - Capital Improvement Plan
The committee voted to take Agenda Item 5 regarding the Capital Improvement Plan out of order. A motion was approved to continue the item to the following week's meeting for further testimony and deliberation.
Agenda Items 1-4 - Discussion on the Amended FY2026 City Budget
The committee introduced a substitute version of the FY2026 budget and opened deliberations among committee members and attending councilors. Council members discussed key aspects of the agreement, including funding for education, property tax rate adjustments, and bulky waste fee relief.
Agenda Items 1-4 - Motions to Substitute and Vote on Passage as Amended
The committee approved formal motions to adopt substitute language for agenda items two, three, and four. The committee then voted unanimously (5-0) to approve and recommend passage of agenda items one through four as amended to the full City Council.
Adjournment
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made, seconded, and unanimously approved. The Finance Committee meeting concluded.
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Test on two.
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My name is Helen Anthony. I'm the chair of the committee on finance. I'm calling to order our public hearing on Monday, 06/30/2025 at 05:35PM. Tonight, we have our full committee, I believe, is here this evening. We have Councilor Taylor, Councilor Anderbaugh, Councilor Graves, Councilor Sanchez, thank you very much.
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In addition, we have Council President Miller. We've got Majority Leader Espinal. We have Councilwoman Harris. We have Councilor Gonsalves and I thank you very much for attending. So, thank you.
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I'd also like to thank Ken Chevarini who is from the city solicitor's office and also our wonderful clerks, Carissa and Donna, thank you so much. So with that, I'd just like to say a couple of words before we start. I wanted, first of all, to thank all of you who are attending this evening. This is very important for us that you participate in this process. I also like to thank those who were not able to attend but submitted testimony this evening.
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We've all received it. We will be considering it in our deliberations. This is our second public hearing on the budget as you may know since I've been chair. I instituted a second hearing. Usually, there's a hearing on the mayor's proposed budget and then I added a second hearing so we could discuss the amended budget.
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Unfortunately, due to the timing of this particular year's budget, we will be going right into our committee meeting on the rise and we will be voting on this budget this evening and that's not something that we normally like to do. We like to be able to sit with everyone's testimony and think about it and discuss it but unfortunately, given the fact, there was a very long time our Providence delegation up at the State House and our State House colleagues had to take some time this year to deliberate over exceed the 4% cap and then there were other pieces of legislation that had to be decided. So, it pushed our entire schedule back. Usually, we have our bills going out on July 1 because frankly, we need the cash to run our city and unfortunately, due to the lateness and and this coming to us, we now are trying to get this out of committee and We have to vote on it twice at City Council, and so we hope to have our bills out mid July, which is challenging, creates a challenge for us to meet our obligations as a city. So with that, I would just like to say that I can say tonight confidently that we have delivered on our commitment.
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At the outset of this process, we committed to advancing a balanced budget that met all obligations and protected core city services while ensuring that no one group of residents was favored or punished over any other. Last week, following months of negotiations, we announced an agreement that was reached with the mayor to revise his proposed budget for fiscal year twenty twenty six to correct what we perceived as major inequities inequities in the proposed tax structure and to ensure a fair distribution of the city's property tax collection. The original proposal introduced in April by the mayor would have had, in our opinion, an uneven impact, raising some homeowners tax bills much more than others compared to last year with two to five unit homes facing the steepest increases. Owner occupied duplexes and triple deckers, homes to tens of thousands of our city residents would have seen a 16% average increase in annual tax bills citywide, while single family properties would have seen a much smaller 4% average increase. Some large buildings and commercial properties were even slated to receive tax cuts.
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After careful review, this committee felt that this uneven distribution would have unnecessarily overburdened working families, specifically small time or mom and pop landlords and their tenants. Under the negotiated agreement, both owner occupied single family homes and owner occupied two to family unit homes will see equal modest average increases of just 6%. The change from a 16% impact over last tax bill to just a 6% increase will save these small landlords and their tenants over $400 on an average compared to the original proposal. As a result of these and other changes to bring increases across property classes into closer alignment, this budget will ensure that the collective responsibility of funding city schools, parks, essential services, and the city workforce is more evenly shared. In addition to correcting these tax rate inequities, counselors secured a number of additional changes that we that will help keep our city safe, clean, and affordable.
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To name just two of those, councilors preserved a sustainability policy associate position, which had been eliminated in the mayor's proposed budget and secured funding to cover fees associated with the large and bulky item disposal, saving residents money and reducing the likelihood of more illegal dumping. All of these things were accomplished with no significant cuts to city services and with a total tax levy increase of just 5.85%, which is much lower than the 8% increase that was authorized by the General Assembly, and even lower than what was feared by many city residents. Again, this was a tough budget year requiring tough decisions. Each member of this committee, like each of our colleagues on the full city council, was elected to make these tough decisions and that's what we have done. The result is a budget that meets our obligations, preserve city services, and distributes necessary tax increase equitably among all city residents.
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I'd like to give a special thanks to representative Rebecca Kislak and senator Sam Zurier for sponsoring the bill to exceed the 4% cap and for rallying our Providence delegation. Also a special shout out to senator Jake Bazillion who introduced and sponsored legislation that allows us to allowed us to separate single family dwellings from two to five family dwellings. Senator's Bazillion's bill also allows us to create a commercial class, an extra, another commercial class, so that we can possibly generate more revenue. Unfortunately, the bill did not pass until late this session, so we need more time to consider that separate commercial class, and we will be working in collaboration with the mayor and his administration over the next year to see if that is going to be a work workable. And we will be applying that if it is to next year's tax bills.
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So I wanted to thank you all for being here, being part of this process, and we look forward to hearing from you. Okay, with that, may I please have the lists? I'd also like to recognize Pro Tem Pachardo who has just joined us. Okay, thank you. Okay.
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So, I would also like to I don't think we, I'd like to ask for a motion to, are we waiving the reading of the no motion? Okay. So, we are here to discuss our budget this evening and with that, I'm going to start. In the tax rates. I have, oh, I'm sorry.
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The time constraints. I thought you said tax rates. Yes, that's included in the budget. We are going to give everyone two minutes if you can. Please try to keep it to two minutes.
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So, and if you're, if somebody's already testified to what you're going to testify to, you can actually refer to them. As a prior speaker but we are really trying to keep this to two minutes. So, with that, I'd like to call Jacob Miller. We're gonna we're gonna make sure make sure the light's on and state your name and address for the record.
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Jacob Miller. 127 Chapin Avenue. I'm a small mom and pop landlord, live in the building, and I am here against passing this tax bill still. I really appreciate the city council and for all the adjustments that have been made to bring the increases down for owner occupied two and five families. But I still disagree that the bill as written is equitable because two and five units that are non owner occupied are still bearing a large increase.
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And across the board, it is still an increase, which will hurt the working people of Providence and the majority of people who live in these old buildings who are also being affected by the new lead laws that have come out. So it's kind of a double whammy of costs. And that's all. Thank you. Thank you so much.
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Next, I'll be calling David Talen.
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Good evening. My name is David Talen, 25 Santiago Street on Ward 8, Councilman Taylor's Ward. I know we're dealing with a big budget shortfall and there's two ways of dealing with this, either raising taxes or reducing spending and I'd like to offer some ideas on reducing spending on the agency that makes up 55% of the city budget which is which is the school department. So I'm sure you're aware the mayor hired a private firm to do an audit on the school department Alvarez and Marcel or A and M as they're known. And they issued a report on April 11 that basically said that contrary to the public belief that the schools are underfunded, they came up with a conclusion that the schools are grossly overfunded in four major areas regarding administrative bloat in the central office, transportation, maintenance and utilities, and special education.
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All of which are things that don't directly relate to the students in the classroom, but are just adult type expenses. And they indicated there were tens of millions of dollars that could be saved there. The one particularly I'd like to see is in transportation, which is roughly $24,000,000. And I believe that half of the 9,000 students who are being bused right now and spending hundreds of hours on the bus would choose to walk to a neighborhood school if they were given that choice. And if they did that, it would save $10,000,000.
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So I know you're pretty much after this meeting are gonna pass the budget as is, but nobody in elective office is talking about serious ways to reduce spending. And I hope some of these ideas will start some discussions at least for next year. Thank you for your time.
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Thank you, mister Talend. Hillary is it Brown? Sorry if I'm mispronouncing your last name.
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Hi, my name is Hillary Brame. Brame. Yes. My address is 127 Chapin Ave. You heard my partner speak earlier.
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We're small mom and pop landlords. And I guess to add on to what he said and to differentiate my testimony is that increasing the two to five family taxes for non owner occupied is going to result in rent increases that will never go away. And this may be just one year's worth of increases, but the tenants in the triplexes all across Providence will never get that money back next year. And so I'm here very happy about what you guys did for the mom and pop landlords, but I'm disappointed in that you couldn't do more for the working people of Providence.
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Thank you. Thank you so much. We have Kari Lang.
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Hello. Kari Lang, 36 Willow Street. I'm in a two unit building with my elderly mom and the other rental unit. I'd like to thank you Chairwoman Anthony and the Finance Committee for the changes you've made to make the budget better for residents of Providence. I know you've done a lot of work and a lot of nights.
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I most want to especially thank you for the additional state aid of $6,500,000 and for the improved changes to tax classifications, and very much for your consideration and understanding the impact on owner occupied landlords of two to five units. Huge and very thoughtful. Thank you. There are two reasons, and I know you're in such a tough, tough spot, but it's difficult in terms of giving testimony and then not being able to have our testimony incorporated. So I love the consideration of a postponing of the vote or somehow to make that work.
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And it my other reason for that is because you have the opportunity to avoid any other tax any tax increase at all with some more alternate tax revenue that was also approved by the state. I think you might have alluded to some of that in your comments, but there were some state legislation that passed. It seems really promising, and I'd love to understand why some of it may not have been added into this budget. Maybe it's just time, but one was higher taxes on homes above 1,000,000 per unit. Another one was forcing the colleges to pay more with the same powers given to Smithfield.
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They did that in Smithfield with Bryant College, and it really worked. And then the other one is a higher tax rate on polluting industrial properties, which I feel like was the one you were mentioning, and taxing polluters, which seems like a really great thing to do. So those options were presented, I believe, and I suspect it's timing, but I'd love to hear from you why. Because it feels like with the good work you've done and with these alternatives, the combination could bring in that much more income for the city, and maybe not require any tax increases.
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You very much. I appreciate that. I did mean to say a little bit about this before we started but I did speak about Senator Bazillion's bill which is the creating part of that bill is creating an additional commercial category for our port, I think, was the intention. So, that very much is is going to be considered. The other bills that were mentioned did not have house sponsors and were not passed and so, they are not, we are not able to consider those at all.
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So I just want to make sure that people understand that we can only do what we can do with what we have. So those bills did not have, they were, I believe, presented by Senator Bell, but they did not have house companion bills and did not pass. So we are not able to consider those. So I'm so sorry I meant to do say that during the during the introduction. I just wanted to say that in case somebody else has it as part of their their testimony tonight.
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So, with that, I'm going to say oh dear, Stephanie, Mattville. Maybe I'm not saying that right. E Steph Esteffani Okay. That lives on Wesleyan Ave. Kate Shapira.
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Hi, my name is Kate Shapira and I live at Fort Brighton Street. Thank you to the council and also to the council staff for this opportunity to speak and also for offering childcare to those here to testify. This version of the budget is better. The increase in tax levies isn't as extreme. I'm glad you're maintaining the sustainability office position.
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I am still concerned and frankly aggravated that the two to five unit tax is going to be passed on to tenants via higher rents. And I'm frustrated that the will to change the law to tax ordinary people was there, but not to do some of the other initiatives that Carrie Lang mentioned, including creating a higher luxury homes. Also not mentioned by Carrie is reducing police expenses. I haven't heard anybody talk seriously about that. And, you know, the supply budget is the library budget.
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Budget. It's the same amount of money. So I understand that the timing is tight, but insisting that the choice has to be between raised rents and underfunded libraries is dismaying and disappointing. You have done a lot, and you've also let some opportunities go by that I would like you to still use. Times are very hard right now in some ways that you can't do anything about, but you can do more for the majority of the people of this city, and I wish you would.
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Thank you. Thank you so much. We have Angel Connell.
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I'm I'm sorry. What is it, sir? You can you can you can ask for that to be brought forward and I will take it and distribute it. Is that what you'd like to do? Okay.
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Our wonderful clerk Donna will take that and make sure that she distributes it.
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Hi, my name is Angel Cornell. I live on 9 Lois Avenue in Providence. I'm grateful for Mayor Smiley and the City Council's efforts to ease the burden on multifamily homeowners, but the proposed twenty twenty five, twenty twenty six budget still delivers a gut punch to single family owners like me and my wife. We're facing a 6% tax hike, money we'd rather spend on our family, our home, or just keeping up with needless rising cost of living expenses. This tax increase sets a new financial baseline that may not hold if future caps are lifted, especially if potential federal and state funding cuts occur under the current Trump administration.
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And this isn't just about numbers. It's about a city budget riddled with foundational flaws that past leaders ignored or kicked down the road like the proverbial tin can, leaving all of us trapped in a fiscal cul de sac with no easy exit. The Providence School Department is ground zero for change. Its nineteenth century model fails our students and teachers, shift stiff stifling any potential with an outdated infrastructure. AI, artificial intelligence, can transform education in part by empowering critical thinking, emotional learning, and teacher support at a much lower cost.
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Commissioner Anfante Greene won't relinquish state control of the Providence School Department until city leaders prove tangible progress has been made. Based on mayor Smiley's original budget proposal, I used an AI platform to provide ideas on revising the budget without going above the state managed 4% cap, which you all have, hopefully. Along with $7,000,000 worth of savings from educational reforms, AI suggested that the consolidation of non educational administrative functions would produce a savings of $8,000,000. Monetizing underutilized assets would bring in $10,000,000 Forging public private school partnerships would save $7,000,000 Introducing non profit service fees would annually bring in $5,000,000 And automating, digitizing the licensing and permitting process would save $3,000,000 Of the ideas outlined, AI posits that the total impact of these savings revenue ideas would be $33,000,000 These and other ideas aren't numbers. They're a lifeline.
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They must be debated openly, refined with public input, and acted upon swiftly. Mayor Smiley and the council must tackle these structures now even if it means facing down special interests who act as enablers of the status quo. If genuine reforms are in place by 2026, 2027, such as rooting out waste, embracing innovation, and aggressively providing astute management of our tax dollars, my wife and I will swallow hard and accept this expensive tax hike. But without bold action, the city will be slouching towards a dystopian future, a future wherein Mister Conrad the province becomes a sad cautionary tragedy in the eyes of the rest of the nation. Please seize this moment, act decisively, and build a city that works for all of us.
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Thank you.
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Thank you, sir.
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Victor Capillon. Good evening, madam chair, council members. I'm Victor Capellan, proud resident of Ward 932 Parkside Drive. I'm also a taxpayer and a strong advocate for public education in our in our city. I know that you face a very difficult choice tonight.
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Our city's finance are in a crisis, and raising taxes is never easy. But investing in education is worth it. As a product of the public education system, I am willing to pay higher taxes because I know our schools have been underfunded for far too long. So I am hopeful that our public schools will receive the support they need and our kids deserve. I also appreciate that the council, working with the mayor's office, have found ways to spread the burden more fairly, especially to protect working families who need it the most.
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But working families shouldn't carry this alone. As taxpayers, we need to see that the city is doing everything possible to find other ways to bring in revenues. Raising taxes must be matched with actions to unlock new funds, put empty properties to work, and find creative ways to strengthen our budget without putting it all on the taxpayers' backs. As residents, we will be willing to pay more, but we also need to see that we are looking for every possible dollar. And without doing that, we will have a missed opportunity.
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It sends the wrong message that families must shoulder every challenge alone when other solutions may exist. So tonight, I urge you, keep investing in our schools, find more ways to protect working families, and continue to work hard to find new revenues that take the pressure of taxpayers, and hopefully, we will see better days in the future. Thank you for your service and for your commitment to our city. Thank you.
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Thank you so much. James Wolfgang.
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James Wolfgang, 9 Cannonchuck Street. I just wanna know one thing, chairwoman. In this budget, is there a 25% increase in the elderly exemption?
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Miss mister Wolfgang, I usually don't answer questions. The exemptions are were increased the amount that they were. We did not touch the increases. In other words, they are as the mayor presented them. And I believe you've testified.