Tiverton Town Council To Hold Special Meeting Today

The Tiverton Town Council will hold a special meeting today at 9:30 a.m. at the Town Hall for discussion - and a possible vote on the budget.

Town Councilors are trying to shave down the proposed 2013-14 budget. A budget presented at the Feb. 25 meeting showed a 3.9 percent increase over the current year, but the Town Council expressed uniform interest in keeping next year's budget at no more than a 3 percent increase.

"There are a lot of things in here that we want, would like to have and probably absolutely need to have, but whether or not we can afford them and be fair to taxpayers in this town is another thing," said council President Edward A. Roderick, adding that he would be more comfortable with nothing over a 2.5 percent increase.

To meet the council goal of 3 percent, the town will need to shave about $170,000 off of the $18.59 million budget recommended by the town administrator, James Goncalo. This will translate to cuts in services and capital improvement needs.

"Our job is to try to minimize how much [the budget] goes up," said Roderick.