Cranston City Council committees spent Monday evening on three fronts: certifying the city's tax levy after the tax bills had already gone out, reviewing 20 arrests connected to the Knightsville feast weekend, and hearing that the city is still projecting a $9.3 million general fund deficit for the fiscal year that just closed.
The Audit, Claims, Safety Services & Licenses and Finance Committees met back to back on August 3, according to the city's published agendas and the committees' published meeting recording. Here is what changed and what is still pending.
Audit Committee certifies the tax levy — after the bills were printed
The Audit Committee voted to certify that the proposed tax levy is sufficient to meet the budget assumptions in the adopted budget. The levy is the total amount of property tax the city collects; certifying it is the step that confirms the budget's revenue side adds up.
The committee acknowledged the certification came later than usual. Council President Wall said this was "certainly later than it usually has been" and described an "extraordinary budget cycle given the crisis — we'll say financial crisis, not to use hyperbole." City ordinance says the Audit Committee shall certify the levy before final tax bills are printed. The bills were already printed.
Local sponsorAffordable photography lessons in Newport, Jamestown, or your town.E.L. Photo RIThe council attorney told the committee that the ordinance carries no penalty for missing that sequence, calling it "more directory; it's more of a suggestion." He also noted the state does not require the levy certification until August 15, and that the city could not delay printing bills "because we want to get the revenue flowing into the city." The council's auditor said the budget was balanced at the time of council approval and flagged no red flags.
The committee also voted to place the Notice of Property Tax Change and its supporting sheet into the public record. Both votes passed on roll call. The committee's next scheduled meeting is a quarterly session in October.
Safety Services: 20 arrests, and a fight over whose fault they were
The longest discussion of the night was not a vote at all. The Safety Services & Licenses Committee took the agenda out of order to hear roughly an hour of comment about the arrests around the Knightsville feast weekend.
A council member who asked for the item on the agenda opened with an apology for his delivery, saying, "at no point was my intention to end the feast, interfere with the Feast Society's leadership, or overstep my role." He described meeting with the mayor of New Bedford, whose city runs a large Portuguese festival, and relayed ideas including controlled entry points, strategic fencing and wristbands for guests 21 and over after a set hour.
Two majors from the Cranston Police Department described what officers found. One said he would not discuss specifics because there are 20 open criminal cases, but that the pattern was clear: "all of these incidents occur later in the evening. They're at 10:30 at night, after 10:30, 11:30, quarter to 12, sometimes 12:30." He put the share of arrestees from outside Cranston at 98 percent, said 15 officers worked Friday night and 19 worked Sunday night, and said neither State Police nor Providence police were called in this year. Both majors suggested moving the 10 p.m. fireworks earlier and tightening the hours attached to outdoor liquor and entertainment licenses.
A chief of staff for the administration, speaking also as a longtime member of the feast society, told the committee the arrests "didn't happen at the St. Mary's Feast. They happened at the time of the St. Mary's Feast," and urged the council to reduce licensed hours when licenses come up for renewal in the fall.
Public comment ran in the same direction, with a sharper edge aimed at the council. A former president of the feast society, identified from the podium as Alfred Crudale, walked through the week's religious observances and said the arrests involved people from outside the city. A neighbor and feast society member, identified as Bill Heert, told the committee the problem is licensing: "every year we push the feast further and further and further away from the feast," and asked why nearby businesses on a main artery receive outdoor entertainment and outdoor drinking permits. The current president of the society told the committee he would meet with police and the council at any time.
Bob Strom, who identified himself as treasurer of the feast society and the city's finance director, said membership has fallen from roughly 600 to between 160 and 180, that the society pays about $20,000 for police and fire details, and that the society pays for the fireworks.
The president of the St. Mary's Feast Society Ladies' Auxiliary, identified as Maria Manzy, said the fireworks have long been set at 10 p.m. because they were timed to the band reaching a neighborhood field. She said one neighboring establishment's music was "way too loud" and drowned out the society's own band, and asked that entertainment type and hours be addressed when licenses are issued.
No vote was taken on the feast. The chair said the relevant liquor and entertainment licenses typically come before her committee in December, and suggested the city hold off on signing vendor contracts, including for the carnival rides, until police finish their review of hours. She also said she doubted the city could legally deny licenses to nearby restaurants and would ask the council attorney.
Licenses: two revocations, one denial-by-inaction, and a batch of approvals
The committee voted to revoke both the victualling license and the Class BV full liquor license tied to a former Oakland Avenue restaurant, after the city solicitor said the prior owner transferred the business without authorization. A court-appointed receiver filed no objection. One council member voted no on both, saying tangible personal property taxes are not paid out in receivership and "we're going to get stuck with that bill." The solicitor said the city should file a claim with the receiver; he said he would follow up.
Two applications for a restaurant that first applied in March and never submitted a letter of good standing, a certificate of occupancy or a zoning certificate were tabled indefinitely, meaning the applicant must start over.
The committee also approved, on roll-call votes, a one-night expansion of premises for a Broad Street restaurant on August 15, amended to 6 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. with a shuttle for parking; one-day liquor licenses for a Sprague Mansion tasting event on August 25 and for a series of food truck events at a New London Avenue location on August 29, September 12, September 19, October 4, October 10 and October 23; new victualling licenses at a New London Avenue property and a coffee roaster; door-to-door soliciting, hawker and peddler permits; a block of auto repair renewals; a used car dealer renewal; liquor, entertainment and mass gathering licenses for two church festivals; a Class F license for a school fundraiser on September 19, corrected to 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.; and a carnival license and parade license for a Walnut Grove society event, with the parade set for Sunday, September 6, from noon to 1:30 p.m.
Finance: a $9.3 million deficit, a downgrade, and refinancing
The Finance Committee approved three bond resolutions after Finance Director Buonanno explained them. Two authorize refunding bonds, which replace existing debt at a better interest rate — he compared it to refinancing a home. He put the savings at roughly $200,000 over 10 years on a school bond, with the city's share about $100,000, and $190,000 over 10 years, or about $19,000 a year, on a second package. A third resolution covers paying off $22,560 in outstanding notes, which he said would be returned to the general fund once the city rolls school notes into a 25-year general obligation bond.
The committee also approved real estate tax abatements.
The blunter numbers came in the June financial report. Buonanno confirmed a projected $9.3 million general fund deficit, driven by $8.4 million in overspending and about $900,000 in revenue shortfall, with the combined figure including schools at $11.4 million. He said the school department is now $2.1 million in deficit but expects Medicaid reimbursements that could bring it close to balanced. He put the rainy day fund at $4.6 million.
Buonanno attributed a $2.4 million shortfall in investment income and a $3.3 million overage in debt interest to budgeting errors in the prior year, saying both were corrected for fiscal 2027. He also confirmed roughly $536,000 in severance costs above the $200,000 budgeted, covering about 24 employees who left with buyouts, excluding police, fire and school staff. Wall, who said he had opposed the spending, asked for a breakdown separating the incentive payments from accrued sick and vacation payouts. Another committee member asked for the projected salary savings from the 24 eliminated positions. Buonanno agreed to provide both.
On credit ratings, Buonanno said one agency held the city at A+ with a negative outlook after two years of deficits, while the other downgraded the city one notch, from A2 to A1, with a stable outlook. He said he does not expect those ratings to be an issue for upcoming borrowing, but that a third consecutive deficit in fiscal 2027 "will definitely affect our rating."
The committee was told a proposed sale of two former elementary school buildings, with part of the proceeds going to the school department for capital work, has not been signed and has not come before the City Council.
What's next
The Finance Committee recommended the tentative police union contract for 2026 through 2029 to the full City Council after an executive session; the executive session minutes were sealed. The Claims Committee also met in executive session, sealed its minutes and reported no new matters carried over from July 6.
The Audit Committee meets again quarterly in October. Liquor and entertainment license renewals for the Knightsville area are expected before the Safety Services & Licenses Committee in December, and the chair invited residents with concerns or ideas to contact the committee using the number listed on the agenda. Agendas are posted at cranstonri.gov/calendar.