Coyle Proposes $62.1 Million Fiscal 2017 Budget

EAST GREENWICH, RI—Town Manager Thomas E. Coyle III has proposed a $62.1 million budget for fiscal 2017, an increase of $1.19 million, or 1.96 percent over the current budget year.

The projected tax rate increase is 2.11 percent, well below the state-mandated cap of 4 percent, but enough to generate an additional $1.3 million in tax revenue. That will help offset the town's increasing pension obligations and pay for a number of important investments in the aesthetics of Main Street and the waterfront, according to Coyle's budget message released Friday.

The town's appropriation to the school district is proposed to increase two percent, or $665,351, to $33,932,906. That's $211,296 less than the amount requested in the school spending plan approved by the School Committee in March—a request the committee tried to keep modest and buttressed with a $400,000 transfer out of their rainy day fund.

Members of the School Committee did not spend much time discussing the proposed town budget at its meeting last week.

Coyle will present the budget at Monday night's Town Council meeting during a joint session with the School Committee.

To review a copy of Coyle's budget, go HERE.