Budget Commission Proceeds, $380M FY26 Budget Draft Out

WARWICK, RI — The Warwick Schools Budget Commission wrapped its review of School Department purchasing Wednesday night, hours before Mayor Frank Picozzi sent his proposed $380M FY26 budget, with $194M for schools, to the Warwick City Council.

“They’ve given us a lot of their time,” Commission Chairman Ernest Almonte said of School Department officials, praising their cooperation as the Commission reviewed their oversight procedures.

“It’s been a very healthy process,” said Interim Superintendent William McCaffery, echoing the amicable tone set for their working relationship with the newly formed Budget Commission.

The School Department forwarded their FY26 Budget to both the Administration and Budget Commission that afternoon, according to  City Chief of Staff Bill Facente’s email passing the documents to council members along with Picozzi’s budget proposal. Interim Superintendent William McCaffery’s message to the mayor accompanying the Warwick Schools budget pointed out their budget request was $198,162,060, which is $3,719,153 more than Picozzi’s allocation.

“This budget reflects our ongoing commitment to providing a high-quality education for al students in our district with thoughtful planning and input from administrators, teachers, taxpayers and community stakeholders. We are confident the resources will benefit our students, staff, and families,” McCaffery wrote.

Picozzi’s budget proposal addressed school funding, noting declining enrollment and borrowing costs for the new high schools project were weighed against labor costs and inflation.

“While I recognize that there have been labor cost increases and modest inflation, I believe it is reasonable to hold school spending increases to 2.5% annually. This is more than reasonable in the light of extraordinary borrowing costs advocated for the construction of two new high schools and continuing renovations of elementary and middle schools,” Picozzi wrote.

City Council budget hearings are scheduled to begin on Monday, May 19.

Budget Commission IDs FY24, FY25 shortfalls, turns to FY25

After Wednesday’s meeting, Almonte said the four-member body has so far identified a cumulative $1.7 million deficit from FY24 and FY25, and has a better idea of how far behind the school department is for FY25, the current fiscal year.

“They’re saying now that’s about $7 million,” Almonte said Wednesday.

With the purchasing review out of the way, he said, the Commission can begin looking at payroll, which accounts for about 80 percent of the department’s entire spending.

“That’s where we think most of this is off,” Almonte said. He said that their current focus is reviewing the schools budget for the coming fiscal year. “We’re probably no more than a month away from finding our numbers for FY26.”

Ultimately, he said, the Budget Commission will also need to plan a 5-year pay-down of the final cumulative Warwick Schools Budget deficit.

Tax Rates Estimated, May Change With General Assembly OK

Assuming Picozzi’s proposed budget stands, the recent revaluation stands to shift the tax burden onto residential property owners, with lower-value home owners getting the brunt of the shift, according to the document summary.

Lower-value homes have increased proportionately more than higher-value homes.  There has also been significant appreciation in residential values relative to most commercial sectors. The office building sector is especially distressed as people continue to work remotely.

The new rates would be:

• Residential to decrease from $14.47 to $13.34
• Commercial to increase slightly from $25.32 to $25.45
• Tangible property, set by state law, to remain at $37.46

“Given the results of the revaluation and absent any change in tax classification, there would be a significant transfer of the tax burden to residential property. The City has pending before the legislature an amendment to the City’s existing tax classification strategy which would allow the creation of a more flexible strategy by ordinance,” Picozzi’s budget summary reads.

That amendment, noted Tax Assessor Neal Dupuis during Monday’s City Council meeting lets the City adjust residential and commercial tax rates according to total assessed value. Effectively, Dupuis said, this will allow the city flexibility to adjust tax rates to shift some of the tax burden off residential property owners.

The resolution, PCR-45-25,  asks the General Assembly to amend R.I.G.L §44-5-67.2 regarding property tax classification for the City of Warwick to better stabilize property tax payments. The measure passed unanimously with 8 “yes” votes. FY2026 WPS Proposed Budget - 5.7.25

Additional budget documents are posted to the city’s website.