Town Council OKs $121M Coventry FY25 Budget

COVENTRY, RI — The Town Council unanimously passed a $121M Coventry FY25 budget Tuesday night with a $994K capital budget and a 2.78 percent, $2.1 million Coventry Schools funding increase.

Beginning July 1, 2024, the budget (see .pdf attached at the end of this article)  includes capital school spending of $613,277  and $381,710 in capital projects for other departments, according to Coventry Town Manager Dan Parrillo. Figures for the new tax rate have not yet been determined by the Finance Department and Town Assessor, Parrillo said Monday.

“The story of this budget is really the Town Council’s commitment to making a serious investment in the long-neglected infrastructure of our community,” said Dan Parrillo, Coventry Town Manager. “Coventry residents deserve top quality services and facilities that enhance what already makes this such a desirable place to live, work, and raise a family,” said Parrillo in a review of the FY25 budget.

New Town Manager, New Budget Process

The budget is the second to pass during Parrillo’s tenure, and this marks the first full fiscal year since he began the job last February. It’s also the second budget passed since the town did away with the Financial Town Meeting in favor of a budget passed by a Town Council majority.

Local voters in the 2022 election approved a change to the town charter, by a 57-to-43-percent margin, that replaced the long-standing practice of an all-day referendum with a requirement that a supermajority of four out of five town councilors must approve the budget.

The new process worked well this year, said Hillary Lima, Coventry Town Council President, as many residents including school department administrators, teachers, and students, indicated support for the Town Council providing additional funding for the school from its initial provisional budget. The Council unanimously amended the provisional budget to increase the Town’s School Department allocation total by $2,183,347, or 2.78% more than the the FY24 budget.

“This year’s budget process was a great demonstration of just how effective our public hearing offering can be when voters utilize it,” Lima said,  “I’m really encouraged by those that attended them in person or virtually to participate and let their voice be heard,” said Lima “It certainly wasn’t always easy trying to balance the passionate viewpoints of taxpayers with the needs expressed by town departments, but I want to commend Town administration for being flexible and creative in ensuring a balanced and thoughtful budget was put before the Town Council for consideration.”

ARPA Funding fuels paving, sidewalk repair, sanitation trucks

The Town Council also made a large commitment in ARPA funding of $2,685,500 which includes continuing the Pave it Forward paving program with a $1M investment, a new gatehouse for Tiogue Lake, funding for septic waste hauling at the high school, supporting the Town’s new Redevelopment Agency, and the purchase of a dump truck for the Parks and Recreation Department. There were several priorities the Town Council had in order to keep up the momentum when it comes to the Pave it Forward program by including an operational investment of an additional $500K in the DPW budget for paving and $150K for sidewalk repair.

They have also committed to begin a strategic investment in the Sanitation department by beginning to fund the purchase of three new sanitation trucks that should arrive in 12-18 months with an initial appropriation this year of $115K.

Additional reading:

Coventry Park Upgrades Include Quidnick Field, Giblin Playground

Cowart Withdraws Coventry Schools Restructure Plan

Coventry Budget: Council Passes $117M Plan for FY24

Coventry Budget: Town ‘Moving Forward’ Says Parrillo

Coventry ‘Headed in the Right Direction’ Says Council Prez Lima

TOWN OF COVENTRY FISCAL 2025 APPROVED BUDGET secure1_0