Portsmouth budget referendum drive underway
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| David Croston confers with Madeleine Pencak and Andre D'Andrea |
At 9am this morning, Save Our Schools organizer Dave Croston was at the Portsmouth Town Hall to kick off the process for a financial referendum to restore $765,301 cut by the Council from the school department budget for 2011. The question would appear on a special town-wide election in September if it gathers the necessary number of signatures (approximately 1,500) in the next two weeks.
Croston submitted a proposal to Town Canvasser Madeleine Pencak, who will produce the signature forms needed; Town Solicitor Andre D'Andrea was on hand to review the language. Pencak indicated she would try to have the signature forms ready by the end of the day. D'Andrea told Croston that in his opinion, the two week window is "from when the vote was taken," which was the evening of July 28.
According to Town Finance Director Dave Faucher, the proposed increase would add 20.4 cents to the tax rate (bringing the new rate to $$11.505 per thousand), or $71.44 per year for the average Portsmouth house valued at $350K, assuming that the entire amount were covered property taxes.
In a statement sent to local media, Croston said, “We need to stand-up for Portsmouth education. Our system has delivered the most efficient system for the dollar in all of Rhode Island. It is easy in these difficult times to blame the institution, but it is honestly misplaced. Education is a fundamental right and what drove many of us to Portsmouth."
According to Croston, the referendum campaign will kick off this weekend with a signing station at Sandy Point Beach and volunteers canvassing their neighborhoods. Volunteers will be present on Monday & Tuesday night at Seveney Field, a rally is scheduled at the intersection of 138 and 138a [i.e., the intersection of East Main Road and Turnpike Ave] on Tuesday night, and there will be signing stations next Thursday and Friday at the Portsmouth High School from 6-9 am and 4-7 pm.
For more information or to volunteer to help, visit SOSPortsmouth.
Comments
buckaroo banzai
Thu, 07/29/2010 - 5:04pm
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?
Do I understand correctly that if a judge rules that the Town must come up with more funding for the schools via a Caruolo Act ruling, the Town can do so by sending out a supplemental tax bill, but if the citizens tell the Town it must come up with more funding for the schools via a successful referendum, the Town cannot send out a supplemental tax bill and must come up with the funds some other way, as in gut the Town-side budget? Is this correct? I sincerely hope I am wrong about this.
Glen Barry
Thu, 07/29/2010 - 5:40pm
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Not exactly
Hiya Buckaroo. I'm no expert here, but my understanding is if there's a referendum to increase the school budget the town council has no choice but to come up with the money and follow the will of the people. The council could do that by sending out a supplemental tax bill, but that increase in tax would be over the cap so the council would have to vote super majority of 6/7 to do it. If the council doesn't have a super majority vote, then the council would have to either use money from the dwindling fund balance, or make cuts on the town side. They might have other options too, I don't know. But no matter what they have to honor the vote of the people.
John -- do I have that right?
John McDaid
Thu, 07/29/2010 - 6:17pm
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I'm not a lawyer...
Hi, Glen, Buckaroo...
Based only on what I have heard at meetings, my understanding is that the Town Solicitor agrees that the Council would be required to adopt the budget set by the referendum. (The language in the Town Charter sec 208.8: "Town Council shall cause the total amount of said budgets to be adjusted upward or downward accordingly and shall adopt an amended Town Budget at its next regular Town Council meeting.")
At the budget hearing two weeks ago, the Town Solicitor expressed his opinion that "the maximum levy set by statute may not be exceeded by means of referendum." His opinion, if I understood it correctly, was that it would still require a 6/7 vote in order to exceed the cap.
This morning, Town Finance Director Dave Faucher told me that the RI Dept. of Revenue had certified that Portsmouth had lost non-property-tax revenue on the order of $2M, and had approved the preliminary request to exceed the cap by $520K on that basis. The proposed referendum increase of $765K would require a second application to them, but since the number is less than half our certified loss, it seems logical that it would be approved.
That puts the issue squarely in the hands of the Council. They would need to make the decision whether to raid the fund balance and threaten our credit rating or send people a bill for $70. Having sat through the budget process, I don't believe there is anything like $700K of cuts possible on the Town side.
Best Regards.
--John