Warren Town Budget Starts to Take Shape

The town council is scheduled to hold a second budget workshop on Saturday morning at 9 am.

  Costs for Warren government and school operations would go up about $600,000, according to a draft budget plan discussed by the town council on Feb. 23. Nearly all of that increase [about $416,000] would go toward the town's contributon to the Bristol-Warren Regional School District. According to the draft budget, the total spending plan would reach about $22.5 million, with $10.3 million funding municipal services, and a $12.2 million payment to the regional school department. School committee members on Feb. 21 approved a $53.7 million proposed budget, about $300,000 less than the current budget, according to East Bay Newspapers — but since Gov. Lincoln Chafee has proposed a $740,000 cut in school aid to Bristol-Warren, the towns will …

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Water Authority Tells Councilors It Needs Cash — Or Else

Bristol County Water Authority officials told town councilors from Bristol, Warren, and Barrington that the agency will run out of cash for operating expenses by the end of next year without more revenue.

  UPDATE, Dec. 23, 12:30 pm: The BCWA presented a plan that amounts to a 31-percent increase over the next five years, according to East Bay Newspapers. The Eastbayri.com website quoted state Rep. Raymond Gallison as calling the Authority "the Grinches that stole Christmas." Original article, Dec. 20, 10 am: The Bristol County Water Authority is in bad financial shape. Pamela Marchand, executive director of the water authority, delivered that message to the town councils of Bristol, Warren, and Barrington on Wednesday evening, Dec. 19, at Barrington Town Hall.  The Tri-Town Meeting was set up by the water authority to brief the 15 councilors on its new strategic and financial plans, and its need for a double-digit rate hike for next year. …

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Lorraine F

5:48 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Hobo, This is about our drinking water. If that's not enough for you and "b kcaj" to take seriously, then I'm sorry for both of you. I hope you come around someday to actually having something of a serious nature to add to the conversation. I am sorry that the Patch does not do more to enforce the content on their blogs. Eventually the readers will leave, as most have already done on the …   more ›

Poll: Did Town Meeting Get It Right?

Didn't have a chance to attend Town Meeting Monday? Cast your ballot on the budget right here on Patch.

During Monday's Warren Financial Town Meeting, residents voted to affirm the Town Council's approved budget, which calls for level-funding Warren's contribution to the Bristol-Warren School District. The decision is in opposition to the Joint Finance Committee, which mandated a 2.25 percent increase in Warren's funding. Failing to adhere to the committee's decision could put Warren in hot water, potentially making the town subject to a lawsuit. Residents and elected leaders in Warren favoring level funding have said the school district is heavy in administrators and has more room to cut from the budget than the town does from its municipal spending plan. Proponents of increasing Warren's funding said the school district needs the money, …

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Cathie Tattrie

11:21 am on Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Gina, the answer to that is no. Not broken down in simple numbers. Always clumped by functions and codes. It really is not as transparent as the town budgets.   more ›

Warren Council Approves Tax Rate Decrease

The Warren Town Council unanimously approved a bare-bone budget, leaving the final decision up to voting residents.

Ordinance Would Ban Plastic Checkout Bags in Warren

The introduced ordinance would ban local businesses from using plastic checkout bags and would impose a fee on consumers who wished to bag their goods with paper bags from the store.

The following is a release from Environment Rhode Island. On Tuesday evening, the Warren Town Council conducted a first reading of an ordinance to ban disposable plastic checkout bags in the town. The legislation could make Warren the first municipality in Rhode Island – and among the first in New England – to reduce litter and marine debris by enacting a bag ban. "We need to keep plastic out of Narragansett Bay," said Channing Jones, associate with Environment Rhode Island, an environmental advocacy group with members in Warren. "Nothing we use for just five minutes should fill our waterways with trash and threaten the wildlife we treasure and depend on." Plastic shopping bags, which have become ubiquitous over recent decades, are easily …

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John Tattrie

6:00 pm on Friday, April 13, 2012

Your Question is a matter of perspective, My personal expeirience with Town government came from sitting on the planning board, 9 person board w/solicitor. Very similar, I feel very differently than the present Council, I personally would only use Tony as a last resort, but his job is to keep them from legal trouble....I guess the five of them respect his opinion in a great many topics.....Well …   more ›

Warren Council President Says School Contribution Will Cripple Town

Council President Chris Stanley says Warren could see eliminations to whole departments in order to supply the school district with the approved contribution.

Against the request of the Warren Town Council, the Joint finance Committee passed the FY13 school budget with an increase over the FY12 budget, which Warren leaders say could cause turmoil in the town's budget and significantly raise tax rates. "We have an incredible education program here in Bristol and Warren," said Warren Council President Chris Stanley prior to the final decision. "But that doesn't make a difference if I don't have a town left to lead. We just can't afford it." According to Stanley, the additional $416,229 which was approved during the meeting is going to have devastating impacts on the town of Warren. "It has come to the point where we're going to have to shut the doors and put the padlocks on the Town Hall to keep …

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Bob Venice

6:33 pm on Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Dee, the first cuts will be sports. Every time in the past when the schools did not get what the wanted they would always threathen the tax payers with the statement, that if we do not get the money we will have to cut sports from the budget. It has worked evertime. The only way to really trim some fat is for the school teachers agree to no increase for a few years. Before I retired I went 5 …   more ›

Joint Finance Committee Hears School Budget Request

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 27 at 7 pm at Mt. Hope High School.

Compared to last year, the Joint Finance Committee meeting regarding the school budget that was held on Thursday, March 8, was a very calm, collected and civil atmosphere. The evening started off with a presentation from Superintendent Melinda Thies, who explained that the school district has come a long way over the years, but more progress needs to be made. With the requested funding from the towns of Bristol and Warren, Thies says the district will be on the right path. "The investment you make in your school district is a long-term investment in the economic wellbeing and health of both of your communities," Thies said.  Thies explained that over the last six years, the district has made numerous sacrafices to keep the costs of …

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School District Seeks $1.3 Million Funding Increase in 2013

The Joint Finance Committee will hold an informational meeting for the public on Thursday evening.

The Bristol Warren Regional School District will present the proposed 2013 district budget to the Joint Finance Committee meeting this week. It will be reviewed publicly on Thursday at Kickemuit Middle School. The district has requested a four percent increase from the approved fiscal year 2012 budget, which by law, is the maximum allowed increase. The proposed budget is likely to face resistance from the towns of Bristol and Warren. According to figures provided in the school district's budget request, the towns of Bristol and Warren are being asked to contribute approximately $1.3 million more than their 2011 contributions. If the district budget is approved as is by the Joint Finance Committee, the Town of Warren would be responsible …

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