Cranston Coronavirus: Parks Close, City Tax Deadline Delayed

CRANSTON, RI — Cranston Mayor Allan Fung is doubling down on the city's emergency declaration issued March 15. On Wednesday night, Fung signed an executive order taking a number of steps to protect the public amid the spread of the new coronavirus.

Fung's executive order details three immediate changes: closing all public parks and recreational fields, delaying the 4th quarter municipal tax deadline and postponing the 2020-2021 city budget introduction meeting.

Cranston said on his Facebook the decision to close public parks and recreational fields came after groups were using fields to hold practices, a violation of the governor's mandate limiting the size of gatherings to a maximum of 25 people.

"I didn’t want it to get to this, but we are truly just trying to keep everyone safe," Fung wrote on Facebook. "Thanks so much for your cooperation, and we’ll open them up as soon as we safely can."

At the time of writing, Fung had not specified when parks and recreational fields will reopen.

Fung order has delayed the city's 4th quarter tax filing deadline from April 15 to May 15. The decision to postpone the deadline, Fung wrote on Facebook, was made "in order to give our residents and business owners some breathing room."

All told, Fung is delaying the deadline for personal and commercial property, motor vehicle and tangible taxes. He's also delayed sewer fees to May 15.

The city's 2020-2021 budget introduction meeting, originally scheduled to be held April 1, has also been postponed. In the declaration, Fung stated a new date for the meeting will be announced in the future. No date has been set yet.

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