Barrington council advances FY2026–27 budget, votes to seek override of 4% tax‑levy cap

Barrington’s Town Council on Monday advanced a draft FY2026–27 municipal operating and capital budget and voted unanimously to request permission to exceed the state’s 4% tax‑levy cap, citing rising debt service tied to a voter‑approved $250 million school construction bond and higher utilities and pension costs.

Town Manager Hervey presented the budget and described the school bond as the single biggest driver of this year’s increase, saying the bond-related debt service “will trigger a need to override the 4% max cap on the growth of the tax levy,” and that the package of pressures — including anticipated higher refuse and recycling contract costs and pension increases — totals roughly $450,000.

The draft municipal-side budget presented shows a town operating increase of about 4.18%; combined school and capital figures are higher on account of debt service and proposed school spending. Hervey told the council the 8.34% projected year‑over‑year tax‑rate increase cited in materials is the calculation without assumed assessment growth and will be adjusted once assessed values are finalized.

Council members questioned departmental details during an extended review and asked for clarifications on shared costs with the school district. The presentation and Q&A covered a range of items, including the reclassification of a communications/economic development position to the town manager’s office (a full‑time role with a salary component the manager described as about $75,000), consolidation of IT costs to strengthen cybersecurity (one‑time capital and recurring operations changes), and a proposed $15,000 part‑time position to expand recreation and senior services programming.

School safety funding drew sustained attention: the schools offered a $110,000 credit that, if accepted and classified as a security line, could be used toward adding a second school resource officer (SRO) or other security measures. Councilors repeatedly stressed that including the credit in the draft budget does not, by itself, authorize hiring; manager Hervey said a memorandum of agreement and additional school committee action would be required.

Members of the public spoke during a dedicated comment period. Resident Janine Wolf urged greater austerity, criticizing reserve and contingency accounts as “just like the recipients of like every wish list for every department” and objecting to the projected tax increase. Another resident, Diane Marie Hallowell, pressed the council to confirm veteran survivor benefits she said are mandated under state law; the manager and staff committed to follow up.

After public comment and additional council discussion about trade‑offs — from delaying capital projects to the potential impact on the town’s long‑term bond rating — the council voted 4–0 to adopt the municipal operating and capital budget as submitted to be forwarded to the Committee on Appropriations for further review. The council then voted 4–0 to authorize the town manager to submit a request to the Rhode Island Division of Municipal Finance to exceed the 4% levy cap on the grounds that the increase is driven by debt service.

The council also approved, by unanimous votes, two bond resolutions: one authorizing issuance of bonds and notes not to exceed $120 million for school construction and related costs, and another authorizing general obligation bonds or notes not to exceed $5 million for athletic fields and an Anewanska Brook culvert project. Finance staff told the council that roughly $2 million of the $5 million athletic‑fields project has already been spent or committed.

The council set a follow‑up meeting for March 9 at 6:30 p.m. to continue COA (Committee on Appropriations) work and finalize remaining details ahead of the town’s Financial Town Referendum process.

What happens next: the municipal budget as advanced will be reviewed by COA and may be adjusted before the Financial Town Referendum; the town will submit its request to exceed the levy cap to the Rhode Island Division of Municipal Finance, which must rule on the legal basis for exceeding the cap based on debt service increases.

Attribution: quotes and attributions in this article are drawn from the council meeting transcript and are attributed to speakers as recorded in the meeting (Town Manager Hervey; Director of Finance Mary Anne; President Cloutier; and public commenters Janine Wolf, Diane Marie Hallowell).