Glocester voters will decide five charter questions in November, including a new town administrator

The Glocester Town Council voted July 27 to send five proposed Home Rule Charter amendments to voters on the November 3 general election ballot, including one that would create a town administrator position and another that would shift school financial accounting away from the town finance department.

The council met in special session and, according to the published meeting recording, took the agenda out of order so it could dispose of the simpler questions first. The town solicitor told members the timing was tight: the questions still must be certified by the local canvassing authority and forwarded to the Rhode Island Secretary of State.

For each question, the council adopted two things — the ballot wording itself and a separate written explanation. Under state rules described at the meeting, a town does not have to print the full explanation on the ballot, but it must publicize it, post it on the town website, and keep a redline copy of the charter changes available for public inspection.

School accounting question drew the longest debate

The most contested item would amend Charter Section C6-9, which now says the financial accounting responsibilities of the school department shall be performed by the town Department of Finance. The proposed amendment would transfer financial and managerial accounting to the superintendent of schools and the school committee, while school funds stay in the custody of the town treasurer and disbursements remain subject to review by the director of finance, as further spelled out by a future ordinance. The explanation adopted by the council also commits the school department to monthly reconciliation with the finance director and a certified quarterly financial report.

Council members were candid that the change would likely cost money. Several said the school department would probably need to hire an accountant or business manager, and that the town would need to fund it. "It would be unfair of us to put this on them as an unfunded mandate," one member said during the discussion.

A resident who said she had previously worked in the town finance office pushed back at length. She argued the problem is not where the accounting sits but who is doing it, and urged the council instead to hire a finance director with stronger qualifications and analytical skills. She also questioned how a school-side budget preparer would get access to payroll and benefits data, which she said make up roughly 90 to 95 percent of a school budget. "If this stays like this, I'm not going for it," she told the council, adding she would vote only for the town management question.

Council members responded that the current arrangement leaves the finance director answering to two masters, and that the town has struggled to keep people in the job. The motion passed with at least one audible objection; the chair did not announce a numeric tally, and the recording is not clear enough to state one.

Town administrator, not town manager

After a long discussion of three alternatives, the council settled on the weakest of them. The question asks whether the charter should be amended, effective January 1, 2027, to establish a town administrator appointed by the council to coordinate the daily administration of town government under the council's direction, and to perform such other duties as may be required by ordinance or resolution.

The explanation the council adopted states this would not change Glocester's form of government. The council would keep all appointment, discipline, suspension and removal authority over department heads; the administrator could recommend candidates and assign and schedule employees' work, but could not hire, fire, suspend or discipline anyone. The first administrator would have to be appointed no later than December 31, 2027.

Council Vice President Walter M. O. Steere III argued for a stronger position, saying a weaker post risks "just adding another position that we're going to pay for." Other members said a stronger manager model — one that would let an appointed official pick the police chief and other department heads — was too large a jump and less likely to pass. Members also discussed assigning union contract negotiations to the administrator later, by ordinance or resolution; the solicitor cautioned that once a negotiator is authorized, the council can accept or reject a contract but cannot sit in on the bargaining.

The council amended the explanation before approving it, striking a line that would have required Rhode Island residency. As approved, neither Rhode Island nor Glocester residency would be required.

Two shorter questions

The council also approved a question expanding the Board of Assessment Review — the panel that hears property owners' appeals of their assessed valuations — from three members to five, and shortening terms from six years to three, with staggered expirations. Current members would finish their existing terms.

A fourth question would double the annual capital reserve fund contribution from 2 percent of the operating budget to 4 percent, phased in at one-quarter of 1 percent per year over eight years beginning July 1, 2027 and reaching 4 percent in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2034. The council chose that slower schedule over a four-year phase-in. Under the charter, the contribution is made automatically without a separate council vote or financial town referendum, and the money can be spent only when a financial town referendum authorizes it for capital projects.

A fifth question would delete the charter provision requiring the director of emergency management to be a qualified elector of the town. Council Member Jonathan E. Burlingame said he favored keeping the residency requirement; other members said the town should be able to hire the best-qualified candidate. The chair announced the motion passed, with at least one nay.

All the ballot questions and their explanations were approved by voice vote, and the council then voted to forward them to the local canvassing authority for certification and on to the Secretary of State, with the solicitor and clerk authorized to finalize wording and grammar. The solicitor noted the numbering used at the meeting may not match the final numbering on the ballot.

Legal counsel appointed in two tax cases

In separate business, the council voted to appoint outside counsel in two tax matters at an hourly rate not to exceed $250.

The first is a federal case brought by Tillinghast Holding Company, LLC against the Town of Glocester in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island. The solicitor described it as a tax appeal filed in federal court "in a very unusual way."

The second is a Providence County Superior Court petition by West Glocester LLC and Factory Mutual Insurance Company against Jessica Parker in her capacity as town tax assessor. The solicitor said it is the third year of appeals in the same dispute, and explained that courts typically consolidate successive annual tax appeals and decide them together.

What happens next

The town clerk and solicitor will finalize the ballot language and prepare the required explanations and redline charter copies for public posting. Voters decide the questions at the November 3 general election.