Joint Finance Committee OKs Lower Budget; Video from Meeting Online

In the face of a roughly under Gov. Lincoln Chafee's proposed budget for fiscal 2014, the Bristol-Warren Joint Finance Committee approved about a $300,000 reduction in school costs for next year.

The video from last week's JFC session, held at Mt. Hope High School, has been posted online by the Bristol-Warren School District.

Running just under 90 minutes, the video shows the budget presentation by Supt. Melinda Thies and brief remarks by members of the JFC and Bristol resident Nina Murphy before the JFC takes a unanimous vote on the $53.7-million spending plan.

Bristol Town Councilor Halsey Herreshoff — whose town's share of the budget would increase by about $817,000 to just over $22 million — is shown making the motion to approve the spending plan.

The three representatives from Warren — which would pay $11.68 million, in his fiscal 2014 budget — also agreed to the motion, making the vote unanimous.