Rainer to Unveil $60.6 Million Budget with 1.27 Percent Tax Increase

PORTSMOUTH, RI—The town's relatively new Town Administrator Richard Rainer will unveil his first budget Monday night that he describes as being based "on conservative financial values for both revenues and expenditures."

At the same time, the budget proposes a mix of continued and new investments into a host of town resources and programs.

"This proposed budget is balanced and supports a municipal government focused on providing core services aligned with the values and priorities of our Town," Rainer said.

The proposed fiscal 2017 budget is $60.6 million, an increase of 4.37 percent over current year. Rainer is calling for a tax increase of 1.27 percent, well below the state-mandated cap of 4 percent and representing a mill rate increase of .20 cents, to $16 per $1,000 of assessed value.

In his budget message, which will be presented at Monday night's Town Council meeting, Rainer said the budget was designed with respect to the town's AAA bond rating and major investments in town resources, including a proposed new police station voters will be asked to approve in a ballot question on Election Day, a new salt shed, the road repair program, renovations of the Leonard Brown House at Glen Park and more.

The tax increase, along with the expectation that the town will again enjoy a high collection rate, would increase revenues by nearly $2 million, according to the proposed budget. The town is also expecting an additional $900,000 in state aid.

View the proposed fiscal 2017 budget.

On the school side, Rainer is proposing an appropriation of $31,599,566, an increase of 2.44 percent over the prior year, according to the budget document. That's also the same amount the district requested in their budget request for 2017, which means Superintendent Ana Riley is liberated from the arduous task most other superintendents face when the town budget cuts the request to some degree.

Rainer's faced a notable challenge in crafting his first budget in concert with the town's Finance Director and staff. While it would seem that coming to a town with stable finances, a healthy rainy day fund balance and several years of strong financial performance would be preferable to taking the helm of a sinking ship, maintaining success is hard, too.

In his budget message, Rainer tipped his hat to his predecessor, John C. Klimm, and the community, who "have done an extremely impressive job in implementing changes which position us for sustained fiscal solvency and prosperity," he said. "In order to stay the course, we must continue to promote and maintain initiatives and policies which encourage progress while preserving our Town’s character. This budget provides my and my staff’s contribution for this to happen."

According to the town's annual audit, the town ended the most-recent fiscal year with a surplus of $314,435. The town's unrestricted fund balance, or rainy day fund, is $6.13 million, which represents just over 10 percent of the total budget. Investors and ratings agencies like to see the figure at 10 percent, which indicates long-term stability.

After presenting the budget Monday night, the Town Council will review it on a department-by-department basis. Here is the schedule:

April 11 - Budget presentation, discussion of revenues

April 12 - Police, fire, public works

April 13 - all other departments

April 14 - open meeting for any topic not already covered

May 9 - adoption of provisional budget.

June 20 - final budget adoption.