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Lincoln's budget plan set for voters' review
LINCOLN - The Budget Board's version of the budget is complete and while it doesn't contain the tax levy decrease that Town Administrator T. Joseph Almond had hoped for, it does more than double the local funding for road work without raising taxes.
Board members decided to level-fund the School Department and gave the department less in capital funding than they requested.
Chairwoman Linda Butera Noble said this was a budget year marked by cooperative participation by all the involved parties. She said Budget Board members are comfortable with the budget they will present at the Monday, May 10 Financial Town Meeting and have not heard any complaint from either the municipal or school side about the final numbers.
"My fear is always a quorum," said Butera Noble. "That's why we are urging people to go to the Financial Town Meeting, because Lincoln is so unique and the fact that we have one and people have a voice in the budget proceedings, the people on the Budget Board and many other feel that we are very lucky to have that."
In the Budget Board's budget, the total municipal operating budget is $17.59 million. This is $208,105 less than Almond requested in his proposed budget in February and $978,746 more than the fiscal year 2009-2010 municipal operating budget. The municipal operating budget includes the municipal capital budget.
In Almond's February recommended budget, there was a $500,000 tax levy decrease that relied on no major changes in expenses or projected revenues.
But when the numbers were tallied up, budgeters found the revenues for renting the Fairlawn School building were put into the budget twice so $125,000 had to be taken out of the revenues. Also, Budget Board members, Almond and Finance Director John Ward agreed it would be wise to level fund the projected Twin River revenues this year. This meant taking out $234,000 from revenues.
Between these two and other adjustments, the budget that the Budget Board resolved no longer included a tax levy decrease. The tax levy in the Budget Board's recommended budget is $50.83 million. This is $51,281 above the fiscal year 2009-2010 tax levy.
"Our philosophy was to try to hold a no-tax increase line without giving up any services or effective town management," said Butera Noble.
The total municipal capital improvements budget is $1.55 million. This is $325,000 more than in Almond's proposed budget and $955,338 more than last year's budget.
There were two major changes made to the municipal capital budget by Budget Board members, said Butera Noble. The first was to move the $100,000 for the Barney's Dam rehabilitation out of the capital budget and into the Resolution VII.
Butera Noble said putting the Barney's Dam project into the resolutions made it more transparent. When funds are in resolutions it also means that the money allocated to that project has to be spent only on that particular project. Budget Board member Carl Brunetti said if the project is completed and there is money left over, it goes into a surplus account and can then be used for other capital projects.
Butera Noble said the biggest change to the municipal capital budget was to increase the funds for road repairs. Board members increase the road repairs line by $450,000 to $850,000.
The town will not raise taxes to pay for capital improvements, they said, because capital projects are paid for by surplus funds.
Butera Noble said board members raised the local funding for road repairs because they heard from members of the Lincoln community that road conditions were their major concern.
Brunetti said that after all the recent flooding there were a lot of washouts.
She noted that a lot of the additional funding will go to maintenance and spot repairs as opposed to resurfacing.
Budget Board members decided to level-fund the School Department at $40.15 million. Almond's proposed budget also level-funded the schools. With the local appropriation, projected state funding, and projected Medicaid reimbursement, the School Department will have a total operating budget of $46.97 million.
School capital improvements are not included in the School Department's operating budget. Budget Board members voted on a school capital improvements budget of $508,040. This is $8,040 more than in Almond's requested budget and $217,585 less than what the school department had asked for.
Butera Noble said board members went through the list of the school's capital improvements and budgeted for projects that were a matter of health and safety but passed over projects for aesthetic continuity.
Brunette said that they also budgeted for capital projects that were required to put kindergarten and 1st grades into some elementary schools.
What do those 10 Lincoln FTM resolutions mean?
LINCOLN - Ten resolutions await voters' approval at this year's Financial Town Meeting.
Half are procedural, they have the same wording as last year with maybe a change of a date or a dollar amount.
The second half are capital improvement projects or give the town administrator the power to enter into lease agreements.
* Resolution I resolves that the School Department gets to keep control of its surplus. This has not changed since last year but Budget Board members have reworded Resolution I so that the language is not as ambiguous. This was done at the request of the School Department.
* Resolution II is purely procedural and exactly the same as last year. It just says that if no one opposes any part of the budget in any way it will be adopted as is.
* Resolution III is also procedural and allows the town treasurer to borrow money in anticipation of tax revenues.
* Resolution IV is also procedural and mandates the minimum and maximum tax levy. The max is the state mandated levy cap. This year the max tax levy is $53.06 million. The minimum is what the Budget Board determines to be the lowest amount the tax levy can be and still have a functioning town government. The minimum tax levy this year is $49 million.
* Resolution V is procedural, it does not change and allows the town to refund outstanding bonds.
* Resolution VI appropriates $120,000 to restore the tennis courts at Lime Acres Park. The funds will not come from taxes but from a surplus overflow account reserved for capital improvements.
* Resolution VII appropriates $100,000 to rehabilitate Barney's Dam. The funds for this also do not come from taxes but from a surplus overflow account. This one is reserved for open space improvements.
* Resolution VIII appropriates $508,040 for school capital improvements. The School Department's capital improvements budget is in the resolutions because its operating budget is a bottom line budget. This means the School Department can spend its operating budget any way it pleases and the town has no control over line items. Putting the schools' capital improvements into resolutions means that the money appropriated for each capital project has to be used for that specific capital project. Budget Board member Carl Brunetti said if the School Department is able to complete the project under budget, then it can keep the surplus to use on some other capital improvements project.
* Resolution IX authorizes the town administrator to enter into a lease agreement for the Fairlawn school building. The terms of the lease agreement have to be approved by the town council.
* Resolution X does the same thing IX does, but it is just for the town animal shelter instead of Fairlawn school. Budget Board Chairwoman Linda Butera Noble said this resolution allows Town Administrator T. Joseph Almond to look into the option of regionalizing the town animal shelter, but it does not necessarily mean he will. Just as in Resolution IX, the terms of any lease agreement would have to be approved by the Town Council.
Originally, Almond had asked for a resolution to appropriate $115,000 to the School Department to help with charter school tuition costs. The point of giving the School Department these funds through a resolution was to try to avoid raising the minimum maintenance of effort. The funds would have come from renting the Fairlawn School. Noble said Budget Board members did not include this in the 2010-2011 resolutions because they budgeted for charter tuitions in the schools operating budget.
Noble said if the School Department does end up needing more money for charter tuitions, then it can request a supplementary resolution next year. She said that board members put the $115,000 into road repairs instead.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________4/22/2010
Signs of the times: Don't miss the Lincoln FTM
LINCOLN - The Lincoln Republican Town Committee will once again put up signs around town urging residents to attend the Financial Town Meeting on May 10.
The signs simply list the location, date and time.
GOP Chairman Michael Napolitano said the committee raised funds for the signs through a direct mail campaign. He says the organization is "working hard to educate and inform the taxpayers" about the meeting.
"The goal once again is to get taxpayers to attend and take part in this process. Many individuals are unaware that they can directly vote on the town budgets. It is democracy in its purest form. But in order for it to truly work, people need to attend."
Napolitano credits last year's signs with nearly filling the Lincoln High School auditorium. "In years past the numbers averaged 100 to 200 individuals at best," he said.
He continued, "The severe financial climate continues throughout our state; it is more important now than ever that taxpayers get involved in the process and attend the meeting on Monday evening May 10. In years past, special interest groups would attend the Financial Town Meeting and take advantage of the low attendance to tack on more spending to the town budgets. We simply can't afford to have that occur this year."
He recalls, "At the Financial Town Meeting in 2008 a group representing Lincoln's teachers was able to vote in a $517,000 increase to the school budget with no mention as to what the money would be utilized for. That amount became a permanent part of the school budget every year going forward."
The committee Web site is lincolnrepublicans.com.
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Almond: Plenty of money for full-day K
LINCOLN - The Lincoln School Department controls ample funds and has the legal authority to implement all-day kindergarten if it finds the program to be an educational priority, says Town Administrator T. Joseph Almond.
He's taking strong exception to the committee's cry for a funding commitment before proceeding.
"This is a smokescreen. They've got the money," he told The Breeze.
At last week's School Committee meeting, where members voted to support School Superintendent Georgia Fortunato's recommendation to drop planning for a full-day kindergarten, committee member Rick Battistoni said that funding is the only thing holding the committee back.
Battistoni asserted there are a few "stakeholders" in town - Almond and the Lincoln Teachers Association - that could have helped the committee secure the necessary funds to go ahead with the full-day kindergarten program.
But Almond told The Breeze this week he would not support the School Committee seeking any additional funds from local property taxpayers because the committee has about $1.7 million already available to implement full-day kindergarten.
Almond says that this money is a combination of $560,000 in projected savings from closing the Fairlawn School, $517,000 from the 2008 Financial Town Meeting, a Medicaid reserve fund of $479,413, and $140,000 in a capital resolution fund.
The first-year cost of a full-day kindergarten program, according to Fortunato, is approximately $342,000.
Almond charges that a primary reason the School Committee could not implement the program is that the council was unable to secure a wage freeze or meaningful concessions from the teachers' union.
"The Lincoln teachers' union was the only group of municipal and non-teaching employees in the town of Lincoln to refuse a wage freeze during the current fiscal crisis at a cost of almost $600,000 dollars (in raises) in the current fiscal year," wrote Almond in an e-mail.
According to School Committee member Mary Anne Roll, contractual obligations make it irresponsible to continue current consideration of the full-day kindergarten program.
"We are entering the third year of a three-year contract with our teachers next year. Our contractual obligations include the salary and benefits we are obligated to in that contract, as well as those we are committed to in our contract with the support staff (teacher assistants and custodians) and our administrators (principals, assistant principals and central office)," says Roll.
"Both the support staff and the administrators took wage freezes last year," she noted.
The $517,000 was approved by townspeople at a 2008 Financial Town Meeting, and as a result of a controversy surrounding that vote, the School Committee put the money aside.
The Medicaid reserve fund represents the amount of Medicaid reimbursement in excess of the budgeted revenue expected. According to Almond, the balance was recently placed in the School Department's budget and is under the control of the School Committee.
The money in the capital resolution fund is also left over from a 2008 Financial Town Meeting when voters approved $150,000 for a "feasibility study for School Department administrative office relocation." The study only cost $6,300, and according to Almond, the School Committee still has the remainder of those funds.
According to Almond, despite declining student enrollment over the past decade, the fact that the Lincoln School Committee has continued to significantly increase staffing and related personnel costs only exacerbates the current fiscal pressures. Almond says that it has now become imperative for the School Committee to address staffing and the currently "unsustainable" benefit costs.
They "have the resources, fiscal capacity and authority to implement all-day K if they determine it has educational value, instead it appears that they are playing upon the emotion of concerned parents to attempt to simply increase an already bloated budget, protect the status-quo, and avoid having to confront fiscal realities," wrote Almond in an e-mail.
"This issue does not require more funding, it requires fiscal management, innovation, planning, transparency, priorities and leadership."
According to Almond, the School Committee needs to start implementing long-term budget reductions if Lincoln is going to maintain education at its current caliber.
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9/18/09
Republican Committee honors Almond, Fernandes, Hadley, Friends of Hearthside
LINCOLN - The Lincoln Republican Town Committee honored Alison Campbell Almond, Felix Fernandes and George W. Hadley at its annual Recognition Dinner on Sept. 13 at the Lincoln Country Club.
Organizers said that since 2000, the Lincoln Republican Town Committee has honored individuals and organizations who "have distinguished themselves in public service and have maintained the highest commitment to what its membership has come to regard as Republican values: country, family, community service, and respect for individual initiative, among others."
The "Friends of Hearthside" was also honored.
According to information from the committee, Alison Almond worked for a non-profit educational organization called Project Adventure, an organization that focused on educating and training teachers and at-risk youth in adventure education. She is married Lincoln Town Administrator T. Joseph Almond "and has been instrumental in managing and organizing her husband's local political campaigns."
Felix Fernandes has served as a Big Brother of Rhode Island, head football coach Central Falls Panthers, and as a Lincoln Little League T-ball coach. He is currently a family volunteer at the Children's Museum, a member of the Roger Williams Lodge No. 32 where he heads its charity committee, a member of the Ocean State 38 (fund-raising committee for the state Republican Party), a member of the Young Republicans and a volunteer for Judy's Kindness Kitchen, a soup kitchen in Providence. He is also is currently the vice chairman of the Lincoln Republican Town Committee.
George W. Hadley has served as a member of the U.S. Air Force International Rifle Team. He then joined the Rhode Island Air National Guard as a combat arms instructor and as a member of the All National Guard International Rifle Team representing the Army and Air National Guard. He was instrumental in revising Lincoln's outdated property tax exemptions for veterans. For his efforts on behalf of all veterans, he was presented a citation from then Town Administrator, Sue P. Sheppard. He is currently a Water Commissioner in Lincoln.
The Friends of Hearthside was formed in 2001 by Kathy Chase Hartley, a lifelong resident of Great Road in Lincoln. Friends of Hearthside was formed to make this historic landmark accessible to the public on a regular basis and to help preserve it for the future.
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LINCOLN - Saying school leaders misled him and members of the Town Council about their reasons for a $517,000 special education contingency fund, Town Administrator T. Joseph Almond has vetoed a council resolution that created the fund.
And councilors are apparently happy he did.
Action comes at the same time school board members recalled all but three laid-off teachers after giving up on winning any wage concessions from the Lincoln Teachers Association. Teacher raises this year total $614,000.
That's prompted a clearly disheartened Almond to say the school board is going to need their surplus - the $517,000 tacked onto the school budget during the 2008 Financial Town Meeting - to cover teacher raises next year.
Instead of locking up more than a half-million dollars for a single "speculative" special education use, he told The Breeze, he wants the School Department to have full access to the money next year when contractual teacher raises will total nearly $900,000.
As Almond describes reasons for issuing only his second veto of council action, he described a break in trust by Superintendent Georgia Fortunato that for now has chilled a cooperative if not always like-minded relationship.
School leaders had asked the Town Council to allow them to create a separate contingency account of $517,000 for use only when special education needs were beyond the reach of the budget.
But two weeks later, just prior to the vote that approved it, another reason for the contingency fund was given, according to Almond.
School board members still seeking wage concessions from the teachers had told union leaders to either agree or lose 17 positions.
To make that happen, school leaders were telling Almond and councilors, they needed to lock up the unspent $517,000 in a contingency fund because union officials were pointing to it as a source for raises.
The contingency fund vote was Monday evening, June 29.
According to Almond, unbeknownst to him and councilors, school board members had given up on a wage concession and recalled all but three teachers that same Monday during a rare morning meeting.
Councilors that night went along with the request in a 5-0 vote.
It wasn't until Thursday, July 1, Almond says, when he learned of the Monday morning recall without any concessions in a Valley Breeze article.
Council President Ronald McKenna told The Breeze this week, "Joe was really upset. He felt he was really deceived. I haven't spoken to all the council members but they seem to feel the same way."
In his two and one-half page veto message to the council, he said that during discussions with school officials, "I had received assurances that the school department intended to maintain a firm position in seeking a wage freeze concession and in it was essential that the ($517,000) be restricted prior to the end of the fiscal year June 30, 2009 to support this position."
Fortunato commented this week to The Breeze only in writing based on submitted questions and didn't answer Almond's charge that he and councilors were misled on the evening of June 29.
She did write, "After reading last Thursday's Valley Breeze, President McKenna contacted me for an explanation. At that time I suggested a meeting with the School Committee chair (Betty Robson), the town administrator, the business manager (Lori Miller) and the councilor from Lonsdale (John Flynn, who introduced the contingency fund resolution) to address their concerns. During the two-hour meeting the School Department provided the documentation showing how positions were eliminated and why teachers were recalled."
She says, "In total 11.5 teaching positions were eliminated from the 2009-10 operating budget. The number of support staff was reduced by 10 positions with the majority of them being teacher assistants."
Almond counters that eight of those teacher positions had already been dropped with the school board's own budget plan in February as well as a reduction in hours for four support staff.
Fortunato says of the attempt to win concessions from teachers: "The chair and I met countless times with the union leadership. They refused to agree to a wage freeze in 09-10. They have a valid three-year contract and we do not have a deficit so there was nothing the School Committee or the administration could do. Unfortunately, threatening them with layoffs was a bluff since a 3rd-grade classroom mandates a 3rd-grade teacher."
Teachers are entering the second year of a three-year contract that this year called for 2 percent raises for teachers in steps one to four; 2.5 percent raises for those in steps five to nine and a 3 percent boost for those at the 10th or top step.
Fortunato said negotiations will continue for the 2010-11 contract year, the third year of the contract.
Suggests Almond, "Let the School Committee be accountable to the voters."
Almond was already predicting this week he'll be recommending no additional school dollars next year.
The $900,000 raise next year will have to come out of a level-funded budget, he said. Increasing taxes to cover raises "wouldn't be fair to the taxpayers," he said.
"This was the year to do it," he says of the wage freeze request that all town employees, along with school administrators and support staff, agreed to. "This was the year, you had the tools."
Almond had begun last winter to campaign for a one-year freeze. He said the School Department could either take the freeze and preserve programming, or cut programming and preserve raises. Now he's saying they managed to do both.
"Our School Department has plenty of money," said Almond.
The administrator said the teacher raises represent more dollars than the amount saved by all other employee wage freezes combined.
McKenna said he expected no Town Council consideration of a veto override.
Almond notes that in this current fiscal year, the town has absorbed more than $2 million in lost revenues while property taxes were increased 66 cents per thousand dollars of valuation.
Meanwhile, all this talk about the unspent $517,000 has town councilors questioning how the school board is allocating funds.
Communities are obligated by state law to fund school districts by at least the amount of the previous year in a system called "maintenance of effort."
Council President McKenna says that when the 2008 FTM voted for the extra $517,000 it was obligating the town to spend the extra $517,000 year after year "for the rest of our lives."
"That $517,000 will never go away," he said.
He questions now that if it wasn't needed in the 2008-09 school year, what it will be used for in 2009-10.
Fortunato was asked to comment about his concern, but did not.
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Revenue off $2.5 million; teachers meet today on
pay freeze
Voters at next Monday's Financial Town Meeting
will be asked to support a budget that requires a 4 percent tax hike just to
level-fund both schools and Town Hall departments.
Revenues will be down again next year -
drastically - say officials. The total spending package of $69.9 million must
draw more from
Town Administrator T. Joseph Almond says
If adopted as presented, this budget that takes
effect July 1 will cost homeown--ers $129 more on a house valued at $280,000,
after the 35 percent homestead exemption is figured in, according to Finance
Director John Ward.
The plan comes with the support of members of
the Budget Board, School Committee, town administrator and school
superintendent. (See their messages on page 30).
Under the plan, schools will get $47.2 million,
down from the $48.3 million budgeted last year (and $1.7 million less than
first requested this year), while municipal departments will see $16.6 million,
down from last year's budgeted $16.9 million.
This is the budget plan that Almond began
talking about in early February when he called on unionized teachers, school
support staff and administrators to follow Town Hall's lead and accept a wage
freeze for the 2009-10 fiscal year.
At midweek, school and town administrators,
school support staff and all town union members had agreed.
Uncertain was the teachers' union stance. They
were still to meet today, May 7. Lincoln Teachers Association President Mary
Ann Canning-McComisky did not return a call seeking comment.
At stake for teachers are promised raises of 2
percent to 3 percent, depending on years worked, that total about $717,000. Not
affected would be step increases for those with fewer than 10 years.
The savings from wage freezes accepted by all
municipal employees totaled $187,000, according to Ward, while Superintendent
Georgia Fortunato said the town is saving $70,000 through administrators' wage
freezes and $120,000 thanks to the same support staff concession.
The proposed combined town and school budget
calls for a 63-cent increase, to $17.54, on residences.
That's a 3.07 percent hike in the levy. State
law permits a 4.75 percent upward swing in the levy, or amount collected in
local taxes.
Taxpayers could spend up to $827,980 more
according to Ward's calculations to max out the 4.75 percent. That would boost
taxes on the $280,000 house by $174, Ward said.
Looking at other tax rates under the proposed
plan, the commercial rate climbs 82 cents to $21.94 per thousand dollar
valuation and the personal property tax goes from $28.07 to $29.16. The motor
vehicle tax rate is frozen at $30.66.
Final calculations on exact tax rates won't be
possible until assessed values are certified in June.
Almond, who is submitting his third budget to
taxpayers, calls the municipal plan "lean."
"Since I've come here, our operating costs
have gone down. They can't go further without cutting services," he said.
About school spending, he's telling a different
story.
The school system, he says, has too many
employees.
"We are completely out of whack. Too many
personnel," he told The Breeze.
Speaking in advance of Thursday's teachers'
meeting, he continued to urge them to accept the pay freeze that every other
"It's just real disingenuous if (the
teachers) balk at taking a pay freeze.
"We've hit a point where we just can't
sustain it anymore.
"The current administration has the
difficult task of bringing it in line," Almond said.
About the revenue losses that are forcing more
taxes just to support level-funding, Almond says, "The state has passed
their budget problems down to the property taxpayer. We're the last in the food
chain. There's no one else I can pass this off to. And I can't create new
revenue."
The list of losses begins with a $1.65 million
cut in state revenue.
Additionally, there's a $200,000 loss in
interest earnings, $100,000 loss in Medicaid reimbursement for administrative
fees, and $500,000 in auto excise taxes as citizens and companies aren't able
to replace older vehicles.
Notes Ward, "Any loss in revenue has to be
made up with local tax dollars."
The town will seek an added $282,576 in local
taxes and apply an extra $424,500 in surplus funds from town and school
sources.
Officials are budgeting no gains or losses in
the video lottery line item of $5.2 million.
Also for the first time this year the town is
accounting for uncollected taxes. In the past, growth covered the 3 percent to
4 percent of taxes not collected, but this year the town is adjusting up front
for that loss by adjusting the levy amount up by 3 percent.
Looking at other hits to this budget, the police
pension fund lost more than 20 percent of its value, forcing an extra $100,000
contribution. Also, the town must spend $150,000 to conduct a statistical
revaluation of property values next year.
This year the Budget Board, which scrutinized
the numbers in weekly meetings for several months, accepted the recommendation
of the town administrator, but with published reservations.
In a letter to citizens, Chairman Kenneth Booth
and members said, "The town administrator has submitted a budget that the
(Budget Board) considers lean. However, lean times call for strong action and
therefore we will support the budget direction as submitted. We would strongly
caution anyone from considering cuts."
Almond said he knows the budget panel worried he
is cutting too deeply.
Despite that, Almond says that if any state aid
is restored, he'll put the money toward lowering the tax rate.
"Our taxpayers don't deserve this. We've done everything we can to keep the budget in line. I'm just trying to level fund budgets. If we cut any more, we'd be carving out services."
The recent Lincoln Financial Town Meeting held on May 11 was a great improvement over the previous year, built on a strong cooperative effort, and I feel there are many people that need to be thanked.
First of all the taxpayers showed up in very respectable numbers topping 700, which had not been seen in several years. The communication and hard work from the both the Budget Board and Town Administrator T. Joseph Almond through letters and press releases was exceptional. Mr. Ken Booth finished up his many years of service on the board with a strong year. The town's municipal employees, the school administration and the school support staff employees offered up a wage freeze, which is a very difficult concession to give in this economy.
In the months leading up to the Financial Town Meeting, the Lincoln Republican Town Committee took on a mission of working hard to get citizens from all political backgrounds to attend the Financial Town Meeting. We embarked on an advertising campaign which included town-wide signs advertising the meeting. The signs were deliberately non-partisan and our main goal was to significantly increase attendance so that small special interest groups could not tack on items to our budget and increase taxes for our citizens.
I would like to thank the many Republicans who donated money to fund this effort as well as the many individuals who allowed us to place a sign on their property. I also wish to thank independent Town Councilman Keith Macksoud, who supported this effort both in spirit and financially and agreed with us that the FTM needs more promotion to make taxpayers aware of it. This will be a never ending mission.
The Valley Breeze also plays an extremely important role in getting local news and events out to the taxpayers, and their promotion and coverage of the FTM in Lincoln was second to none.
It is important to note that attendance at next years FTM will be even more important as currently the economic future in our state does not look promising. We must be prepared for it.
Michael Napolitano
Chairman
Lincoln Republican Town Committee
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM THE VALLEY BREEZE 5/14/09
Almond's budget wins overwhelming OK in Lincoln
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| Budget Board Chairperson Ken Booth reading budget items during Lincoln's Financial Town meeting at Lincoln High School.
Valley Breeze photos by Bruce McCabe
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LINCOLN - Nearly 700 residents made short work Monday of adopting a new town budget that's penny for penny as proposed by Budget Board members and Town Administrator T. Joseph Almond.
Residents had clearly come with a shared workmanlike attitude. They endorsed line items with a series of strong and nearly unanimous "ayes," then sent themselves home two hours after the first gavel had called the meeting to order.
Support was firm even as leaders made clear that in this economy of lost state revenues, even level-funding means a tax increase come July.
Lincoln's affirmative action stands in contrast to meetings going on in town halls and schools across Rhode Island where severe budget cuts are triggering citizen arguments and political grand-standing.
For Almond and members of the Budget Board, Monday night was a test of residents' willingness to understand this winter's budget deliberations, then heed a call to show up to vote despite having to endure the tedium that goes with the double-reading of nine lengthy resolutions shrouded in legal language.
A repeat of last year's underground drive to boost the school budget would have, from Almond's viewpoint, dropped more money on a School Department already top-heavy with personnel and forced a tax increase beyond the estimated $120 for homeowners whose houses are valued at $280,000.
Instead, citizens agreed with little comment to level-fund the school department to the point of approving less money than last year when the reduced state aid is figured in. Just a solitary "nay" sounding faintly against hundreds of "ayes."
Superintendent Georgia Fortunato was publicly supporting the lower number - $47.2 million compared to last year's $48.3 million - and with a wide smile traded thumbs-up gestures with nearby school personnel when the school budget was so effortlessly adopted.
Residents concluded their business by adopting a $16.6 million municipal budget and were filing from the Lincoln High School auditorium by 9:35 p.m.
Almond told The Breeze the Budget Board accomplished a "tough job" and voters "realized what we were facing."
"I am really, really pleased with the tremendous show of support," Almond said.
Moderator Robert Ericson said that by his watch, Monday's meeting was the fastest in recent memory, beating the 2007 meeting by one minute.
Analyzing the mood later, Ericson said, "They wanted to make sure their taxes didn't go any higher. People understood why it was like it was. People understood and they wanted to make sure it didn't get out of hand."
He said he sensed a tension in the room that was ready to erupt had an attempt been made to alter the plan.
Ericson credited the team of Almond and Finance Director John Ward. "What they have done through the year is amazing. It took a lot of strength and courage to follow through and keep it flowing. Between Joe and John, they really had the whole thing under control."
Budget Board Chairman Kenneth Booth called the vote "a cooperative effort by the community to understand the tough economic times we're in. The people worked together, the taxpayers trusted the Budget Board's position."
Given the pessimistic numbers coming from state officials Monday, Booth predicted next year's budget could be even harder to resolve.
Town leaders' push to drive residents into the high school auditorium Monday almost paid off too well. Only a couple of seats in the 720-chair hall were empty as Ericson called the session to order.
Reprinted with permission from the Valley Breeze
4/23/09
GOP urges residents to attend FTM; announces May 3 Open House
LINCOLN - The Lincoln Republican Town Committee announces it has begun its own informational campaign to promote the Lincoln Financial Town Meeting.
The committee, through donations, launched a direct mail campaign and a sign campaign to alert taxpayers about the meeting.
Chairman Michael Napolitano announced this week that the organization "was working hard to educate and inform the taxpayers about the Financial Town Meeting." Said Napolitano, "Given the current financial climate throughout our state, it is more important now than ever that taxpayers get involved in the process. In years past, special interest groups would attend the Financial Town Meeting and take advantage of the low attendance to tack on more spending to the town budgets. We simply can't afford to have that occur this year."
The Lincoln Republican Town Committee has put up non-partisan signs around town that bear the location, date and time of the Financial Town Meeting. Said Napolitano, "The goal is to get taxpayers to attend and take part in this process. Many individuals are unaware that they can directly vote on the town budgets. It is democracy in its purest form. But in order for it to truly work people need to attend."
The Open House will take place on Sunday, May 3 at 6 p.m., at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 172 Jenckes Hill Road.
Individuals interested in joining the Lincoln Republican Town Committee may attend this event or contact Napolitano through the organization's Web site at www.Lincolnrepublicans.com .
Reprinted with permission from the Valley Breeze
11/6/2008
By PATRICIA A. RUSSELL, Valley Breeze Staff Writer
LINCOLN - Voters made their voices heard clearly Tuesday, backing incumbent Republican T. Joseph Almond as town administrator in all 16 precincts.
In the three-way contest for a second, two-year term, Almond snagged 61 percent of the vote, beating his nearest competitor, Democrat John Barr, who received 31 percent of the votes. Independent candidate James Spooner, 73, got 8 percent of the vote.
Click here for Lincoln returns:
www.valleybreeze.com/www/LINC_Elect_Chart_11-2008.pdf
Even with the results of one polling place uncounted late Tuesday, a victory was apparent and Almond addressed a crowd of well-wishers, including his wife, Alison, and the couple's children, his mother, other extended family members, friends and supporters.
Actually, the crowd had begun gathering earlier in the evening at the Lincoln Country Club on Dexter Rock Road. Watching the early returns come in, the 52-year-old retired lieutenant from the Lincoln Police Department said he felt good.
Indeed, when the results of the first two polls were announced - one at St. Basil's Church and the other at Saylesville Elementary School - Almond's son, Tommy, could be heard asking, "Dad, did you win?"
In the election two years ago, Almond took the top seat with only 34 percent of total ballots cast in a five-way race.
With Tuesday night's overwhelming win, he said he's "got people's trust now."
Almond pledged to continue to fight for the town's fair share of state revenue and state aid for local education, and would work to reform health care.
Acknowledging that his wife is a teacher, Almond blasted the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers, who endorsed his opponent John Barr.
"These people have got to stop," Almond said. "These union thugs have got to stop," he said, adding, "We are not going to let them ruin our town."
Almond said he has a great Town Council to work with and that he is looking forward to the next two years.
Almond said he spent part of election day at his office and the remainder visiting all 16 precincts. He voted at Lincoln High School.
Some 90 minutes after the polls closed at 9 p.m., Barr acknowledged in a telephone interview that Almond had won a "substantial number of votes" and that residents wanted to "stick with his management style."
"Obviously, I'm disappointed," he said.
Barr, of Sir Charles Road, said he didn't know why he'd "come up short" in the election. Asked if there was anything he might have done differently in his campaign to change the outcome, Barr said he was proud of the way he ran his race. "I respect the democratic system," he said.
Still, he said he considers himself the "luckiest man out there."
Barr, 44, underwent emergency open heart surgery last July. He declined to say whether he would run again for political office.
Successful independent candidates running for Town Council seats, Arthur Russo Jr., and Keith Macksoud, also gave victory speeches at the country club.
Reprinted with permission from the Valley Breeze
10/23/2008
By MARCIA GREEN, Valley Breeze Editor
LINCOLN - The Rhode Island Republican Party is suggesting that six Democratic candidates statewide are barred from partisan politics by the federal Hatch Act - including Mary Ann Shallcross-Smith of Lincoln, owner of the nonprofit Kids Klub childcare business.
Shallcross-Smith has challenged three-term incumbent William McManus in House District 46, which covers part of Lincoln and Pawtucket.
State GOP Chairman Giovanni Cicione, an attorney who raised the issue late last week, says he has notified U.S. Attorney Robert Corrente and the Hatch Act Unit of the United States Special Counsel in Washington, D.C.
He says he doesn't expect a resolution to his complaint prior to the Nov. 4 election.
The federal Hatch Act prohibits those who work for the federal government, or in some cases are part of an agency that receives federal funding, from participating in partisan politics.
The 2006 Kids Klub Form 990, which is used for organizations exempt from income tax, is available online at guidestar.org.
It shows $178,554 of $1.9 million in revenue was received in "government grants" that year.
In Shallcross-Smith's case, Cicione and Lincoln Republican Town Committee Chairman Michael Napolitano go a step further and say her 501(c)(3) status as a nonprofit organization also prohibits her and her employees from campaigning.
A fact sheet issued by the Internal Revenue Service says "Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. The prohibition applies to all campaigns including campaigns at the federal, state and local level."
Her opponent, McManus, says that in addition to her own political efforts, a campaign sign on the side of her Smithfield Avenue headquarters directly violates the federal ban.
Reached Monday by The Breeze, Shallcross-Smith indicated unfamiliarity with the Hatch Act and asked to do some research before commenting.
She did say that it seemed the Republicans "are really scared. With all my credentials they know they have a good candidate."
Several hours later, Timothy Grilo, executive director of the Rhode Island Democratic Party, contacted The Breeze to characterize the GOP's stance as "a smear campaign because they don't have any issues."
"This is clearly a political ploy, just another attempt to distract voters from the real campaign," said Grilo.
Grilo, who said he hadn't spoken with Shallcross-Smith, did not address the specific GOP charge except to mock the general premise, question the timing before an election and say some of the employment records of the six candidates were not factual.
"It's frustrating, annoying and just complete garbage," he said.
Shallcross-Smith did not respond to a later call from The Breeze.
Hatch Act concerns have forced candidates off the campaign trail in the past.
In 2006, Joseph Moran III stepped aside from running again for the General Assembly because of a Hatch Act conflict.
He is the police chief of Central Falls administering programs that are federally funded. Federal officials advised him that he was in conflict with the act.
Also in 2006, Edward LeBlanc, a Republican candidate for Cumberland Town Council pulled out of the race because he is civilian employee of the U.S. Coast Guard.
This is the second GOP challenge to Shallcross-Smith's candidacy. In June the Lincoln Board of Canvassers asked her to produce paperwork to show she really resides at 6 Twin River Road with her husband and parents rather than the Little Compton house she and her husband own.
Shallcross-Smith said that although she uses the Little Compton address for tax returns, she spends just 12 days out of the year in Little Compton.
Reprinted with permission from the Valley Breeze
10/16/2008
Almond says Barr 'instrumental' in securing school budget boost
LINCOLN - Administrator T. Joseph Almond said this week he "wants voters to know that in my first year in office, I put forth an annual budget well below the limits imposed by mandatory tax caps. As a result, over 65 percent of residential homeowners experienced a reduction in their property taxes."
Almond says this "consistent prudent fiscal management" continued in his second year in office.
"I again put forth an annual budget well below mandatory property tax caps. This budget, combined with savings achieved through responsible fiscal management, would have resulted in no increase in property taxes.
"After months of hard work by my administration to protect property taxpayers, I believe it is appropriate to call the voters attention to some disturbing actions undertaken by candidate John Barr. It is well documented that during this year's Financial Town Meeting, in May of 2008, Mr. Barr was instrumental in directing a vote to needlessly increase your property taxes by $517,248."
"I am especially disappointed that, as a candidate, Mr. Barr would seek to cause an unnecessary increase in property taxes at a time when Lincoln's families face the difficult economic challenges of higher gasoline, home heating, food, and utility costs.
"As your administrator, protecting residential property taxpayers will remain a priority and I will continue to successfully identify ways to make government more efficient and cost effective."
Reprinted with permission from the Valley Breeze
10/16/2008
LINCOLN - The town will see about a $300,000 surplus for the Fiscal Year 2008 that ended on June 30, Town Administrator T. Joseph Almond announced this week.
Almond said in a statement, "Almost two years ago, my administration implemented effective budget controls in response to pending S-3050 property-tax caps, projected reductions in revenues, and a forecast of bleak economic conditions in the region and nation. These budget controls included strict adherence to expenditures that only existing revenues could support.
"In addition, we identified and achieved substantial cost savings."
He said, "As a result of responsible fiscal management, we have maintained an unrestricted surplus accounting for 8 percent of our annual fiscal budget securing our excellent financial bond ratings. In addition, we have added to our restricted surplus accounts designated for capital improvements and open space/recreation. In closing the June 30, 2008 fiscal year, we now have a total surplus of approximately $7,500,000."
According to Almond, "It is important to note that in the past fiscal year, the town experienced unanticipated state cuts in Aid to Education and General Revenue Sharing totaling $368,565."
He added, "The town also settled long-standing lawsuits related to a wrongful termination claim, and the Northern Rhode Island Private Industry Council totaling $382,000. Yet, in spite of having to absorb a total unbudgeted liability of $750,565 we were successful in completing the fiscal year with a budget surplus."
Said Almond, "The state of Rhode Island, along with most cities and towns, is expected to experience fiscal hardship and instability well into the next fiscal year. While we have achieved many accomplishments in the past two years, the most important work is still ahead."
He added, "We must continue to identify ways to make government more efficient and cost effective, and persist in our fight for an equitable statewide school funding formula. It will be critical that we protect our local property taxpayers, preserve our excellent bond rating, and promote economic growth."
Town Administrator Almond concluded, "Lincoln's excellent fiscal health could not have been achieved without cooperation, hard work and sacrifice. I would like to acknowledge the Town Council, Budget Board, department directors, our employees, and all local elected officials for making these achievements possible."
Reprinted with permission from the Valley Breeze
9/25/2008
LINCOLN - The Lincoln Republican Town Committee held its 9th annual recognition awards dinner on Sept. 14 at Lancellotta's Restaurant in North Providence.
The awards are given to Lincoln residents who are recognized for their contributions to community public service.
Individuals recognized this year were:
State Rep. William J. McManus; Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority board member Arthur H. Fletcher; executive director of Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement Terry Gorman; chairman of the Lincoln Republican Town Committee and Albion Fire Commissioner Michael Napolitano; and Lincoln Water Commissioner Kenneth G. Pichette.
The guest speakers for the event this year were former Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey and State Rep. and National GOP Committee Woman, Carol Mumford.
Reprinted with permission from the Valley Breeze
9/4/2008
By MARCIA GREEN, Valley Breeze Editor
LINCOLN - A charged up Town Administrator T. Joseph Almond declared this week that John Barr's plan to seek a 30 percent state housing aid reimbursement for the new Lonsdale Little League field is nothing short of illegal.
"You can't do it, it's against the law," he said flatly.
"Is that what they do in the General Assembly? Is that where he got his training?" Almond asked.
"Is he saying he has the expertise to lie?"
On next Tuesday's ballot, former state representative John Barr is running against John Cullen and Louis Azar for the Democratic nod to take on Republican one-term Administrator Almond in November.
But Barr isn't waiting for that balloting. He's already taking aim at Almond.
Said Barr last week, "Had Joe Almond done his homework and looked for ways to save the taxpayers money, Lincoln would have realized a savings of $300,000. Instead, because of Mr. Almond's lack of fiscal expertise, $300,000 was wasted. And waste like that has led directly to this year's increases in our local property taxes."
That brought the one-term administrator off the bench a few weeks early to respond.
"I've been accused of being a lot of things, but being accused of being honest is something I can live with," said Almond.
At issue is the $887,900 in improvements at the school on Old River Road.
While Barr said a smarter town administrator would have figured out how to submit the entire project under the state housing aid reimbursement program that's given for school improvements, Almond, a former police lieutenant, counters that would be fraud.
Said Almond, "(Barr's) saying 'I know how to manipulate this.'"
Barr says it's all in the way the application is written and points to Scituate where reimbursement was won for the high school athletic fields.
There will be some state aid reimbursement on a portion of the Lonsdale project, Almond said.
According to Town Planner Al Ranaldi, $360,900 was spent on school improvements at the same time the new field was built, including a new parking lot, drainage system, basketball court and two play areas.
The remaining $527,000 went to the regulation Little League field with lights.
Another $500,000 has been earmarked for Manville Memorial Park improvements.
Spending on the Lonsdale contract has been tracked according to whether it's a school or field expenses from the start and 30 percent reimbursement is expected on the school spending, or about $100,000 returned to taxpayers, said Ranaldi.
Almond said the financial directors for the town and school department, as well as the Town Council and town solicitor all reviewed the reimbursement application that Ranaldi says was done "with the best interest of Lincoln taxpayers in mind."
Last week Barr stuck by his words even after being told that part of the spending was submitted for state reimbursement.
He said the ball field is eligible because children, including his own, use it during school recess.
Crews last week were paving the parking lot and beginning to finish up this project that's been under way for months.
Most of the funds used came originally from the Lincoln Park organization in lieu of an earlier promise to build a field on the grounds of the gambling facility. Taxpayers are footing about $350,000 of the two-park project.
Reprinted with permission from the Valley Breeze
5/15/08
Almond calls School Committee members 'reckless,' their actions a betrayal of taxpayers
By MARCIA GREEN, Valley Breeze Editor
LINCOLN - School Committee members were nothing short of "reckless" at Monday's Financial Town Meeting when they endorsed by their silence a $500,000 increase to the school budget, Town Administrator T. Joseph Almond said Tuesday.
Almond said taxpayers will see a 30-cent increase in the tax rate come July 1, rather than the proposed 10-cent raise, to fund extra school spending that was not identified.
"They simply said, 'We want it. Give it to us and we're going to spend it,'" said Almond.
More animated than has been his style during 17 months in office, Almond said, "I don't blame the voters, I don't blame the parents, I don't blame the teachers. I squarely put the blame on the School Committee. They acted with complete recklessness.
"They betrayed the taxpayers. They were given a budget that was very livable," he said.
The school budget proposal before voters was for $47.78 million, representing an increase of $1,124,550 or 2.5 percent over the current budget. In a standing vote of 170 to 113, according to Almond, the assembly of taxpayers boosted it to $48.3 million.
The rest of the Budget Board's proposal was approved virtually as presented, for an overall town and school budget of $71.8 million.
"Parents," said Almond, "were misinformed" by school leaders who didn't identify program or service cuts.
Said Almond, "I just think that they overall sold out property taxpayers during the negotiation of a (teachers') contract. I dare them to answer how this money will improve education for our kids. We're in a recession. Property taxes are the most regressive tax there is. There's no account of a person's ability to pay."
Budget Board Chairman Kenneth Booth called the decision "democracy at work. Whether we like the outcome or not, we can only have a voice if we are there," he said.
He agreed with Almond's observation that the money's purpose wasn't identified.
"I just feel badly it's undesignated and taxpayers have no idea how it will be spent. We have a half-million dollars with no designated use."
Homeowners with a house valued at $300,000 will pay an extra $39.
Almond said School Committee members had indicated to the Budget Board as late as last Thursday that they could live within the proposed amount.
And Booth said the Budget Board "felt there was an understanding" about this year's budget.
School Superintendent Georgia Fortunato concurred with that observation. She said Tuesday, "We weren't happy about (the recommended budget). We were closing programs and eliminating positions. But we did want to work for the benefit of the town."
Parent support had been suggested during last February's school budget talks and a letter went from the schools to parents on May 8 that urged support "to avoid further budget cuts that may negatively impact the quality of our students' education. . ."
But when it came through Monday, she was caught "totally by surprise," she said.
The increase, she says, will save the committee from hard choices. Among the programs in jeopardy were music, enrichment, middle school sports and the "Physics First" program, she said.
The committee had already decided to cut four elementary classrooms and increase class size beyond the "optimal 18 to 20 students."
Fortunato said, "Lincoln, I have to be fair, is a community where parents and taxpayers take the education process very seriously. That's what I like about the Financial Town Meeting. The community has a voice. I'm very excited."
About the increased tax hardship, the superintendent said the investment in schools is needed to keep real estate property values high. "People want their property values up there and want families to continue to move to Lincoln for the schools."
The School Committee will call a special session to increase the budget and determine how it will be used, she said.
Fortunato denied charges that the money will be used to fund a teacher contract that's under negotiation. "To say there's an agenda, to say this is about raises is not the case," she said.
Told that Almond called the school board "reckless," Fortunato said, "The School Committee advocates for the students and that's what they are charged to do. The School Committee wants to work cooperatively with the Budget Board and will continue to do that."
A quiet town meeting to put in place a 10-cent hike in the tax rate had been predicted. Those who planned the budget challenge didn't announce it in advance and indeed, School Committee Chairman Mary Ann Roll told The Providence Journal last week that she could live with the Budget Board's recommendation.
Almond said Tuesday that despite his disappointment, he's still a proponent of gathering taxpayers to make the final budget decision. "In some ways, we need to do a better job of getting people to the meeting," he said. "The School Department found a way to utilize that meeting and gain an advantage. I don't think it's bad.
"It's part of the process. People who do come have the right to vote and made a decision. This was a single point of view based on a false premise but you have to respect it."
Almond said the town budget can't absorb any of the extra $500,000, so all will be passed on to taxpayers.
He said, "I'm upset that we told people we've got to minimize the impact on the taxpayers and everyone agreed that would be the thing to do given external conditions on the community. A large group doesn't come in like that unless incited to.
"While a 5 percent increase in the local property tax levy is permitted under the state's tax-cap bill S-3050, taxpayers cannot afford it," Almond said.
Almond had said in a prepared statement before the meeting, "The recommended 2.72 percent increase will provide essential funding for municipal and educational services; the remainder is needed to restore the loss of revenue to local communities imposed by the state through cuts in local revenue sharing and aid to education."
Almond said he cautions, "If voters at the Financial Town Meeting elect to increase spending above the recommended budget, it would cause a direct increase to local property taxes. Until we understand the extent of the fiscal crisis gripping the region, and gain control of the spiraling and unsustainable cost of pension and health care benefits, it would be irresponsible to increase spending."
© 2008 Breeze Publications
