Letter: A Vote for Fiscal Responsibility

By Coventry Town Councilwoman Karen Carlson

  At the May 13, 2013, Coventry Town Council meeting I, along with District 2 Town Councilman Greg Labossionere, voted against approving the 2013-2014 Coventry Town Budget that will be presented to the voters at the upcoming Financial Town Meeting on June 11th.  As a candidate for Town Council last November I pledged that I would vote for "fiscal responsibility", and to me this budget is the exact opposite of that. The new budget is an increase of $3,540,687 from the 2012-2013 budget. The tax levy of $62.3 million would go up to $64.6 million - an increase of nearly $2.3 million. This increase means a proposed tax rate increase of 3.5%, increasing the residential tax rate from $18.06 per thousand to $18.69 for property valuations. …

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Scott S.

12:58 pm on Thursday, May 23, 2013

Hi Ken, all of my kids went to private schools as well from K-12. My point was that a public school education via property taxation is actuallly quite cheaper. It basically costs about 92% (I think) of your property tax bill for public eduction in Coventry. My point was that is a far cry from the tuition at Hendricken, LaSalle and Prout. And those are some of the reasonable ones that cost around …   more ›

Council Amends Ordinance to Include Asphalt Plant Restrictions

Limitations and guidelines regarding the operating hours of local asphalt and cement plants were added to Chapter 153 of the Town's Code of Ordinances.

  During the May 13 meeting of the Coventry Town Council, members approved and adopted councilman Ted Jendzejec's amendments to Chapter 153 of the Coventry Code of Ordinances entitled "Licensed Businesses".  Jendzejec began considering the revisions after being approached by a number of his Dist. 5 constituents residing in Wood Estates and Westwood Estates, who for nearly a year, have been voicing their discontent in regards to excessive noise, traffic and contamination allegedly originating from several nearby asphalt plants.  The amendment added a fourth section to the chapter as follows: SECTION 1. Chapter 153 of the Code of Ordinances of the Town of Coventry entitled "Licensed Businesses" is hereby amended by adding the following: "§ …

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Lauren Costa

8:59 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013

As of last Monday, the environmental tests ordered by the Town Council at the request of area residents were approximately 25% completed. I'm assuming the return of warm weather will help speed the process along and I will definitely keep everyone updated as any results are released.   more ›

Council Approves Fiscal 2014 Budget

A moderator was also appointed for the Financial Town Meeting on June 11 during which residents will vote on the proposed budget and 3.5 percent tax increase.

Town Renames EOC In Memory of Battalion Chief Bill Hall

The Coventry Emergency Operations Center will go by a new name to honor the late Central Coventry Fire District Battalion Chief.

  At the start of Monday's Town Council meeting, President Gary Cote presented Tracy Hall, wife of the late Central Coventry Fire Battalion Chief William J. Hall, with a proclamation memorializing Chief Hall's work and accomplishments in the Town of Coventry. In his memory, Town officials have renamed the Coventry Emergency Operations Center, The William J. Hall Emergency Operations Center. The Center, located within the Annex across from Town Hall, serves as the command post for any large-scale emergency events within the Town, such as hurricanes, floods, blizzards, etc. Apart from the many hours he spent at the EOC as a member of the Town's Emergency Management Committee, Chief Hall also instructed two graduating classes of Community …

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Leave RI

10:16 am on Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Realistic voter..I moved your comment to my reply..you had it in the VES reply. It didn't make sense.   more ›

Council Approves Fiscal 2014 Budget

A moderator was also appointed for the Financial Town Meeting on June 11 during which residents will vote on the proposed budget and 3.5 percent tax increase.

  During Monday's meeting, the Coventry Town Council voted 3 to 2 in favor of approving Town Manager Tom Hoover's proposed budget for fiscal 2013-14. (See the attached PDF to view the Town's most recent budget presentation.) The proposed operating budget to be voted on by residents next month totals $93,218,553. This reflects an increase of $3,540,687 from the 2012-2013 budget. Of the $93.2 million, $65,118,541 is allocated as the school department's total operating budget which includes a requested $400,000 increase to fund state mandated technology updates ($300,000) and a non-recurring $100,000 to reopen Oak Haven School as an Early Learning Center.  Coventry's current tax levy, roughly $62.3 million, will be increased by nearly $2.3 …

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harleyrider8272

8:30 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Not him that got kicked off dummy!   more ›

Council Approves Business, Entertainment Licences

Council approved multiple new licenses and renewals on Monday night.

  Licenses The following license applications were approved: The following Second Hand licenses were renewed: The following Auto Salvage licenses were renewed:

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Town Council Agenda - May 13, 2013: Pension Obligations, Proposed Budget and More

Take a look at the upcoming topics to be discussed at Monday's Coventry Town Council meeting and budget work session.

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Council Renews Storage and Preservation Contract for Town Records

Self-sustaining process will continue to preserve municipal records, currently dating back to 1976.

  Council approved Monday, the renewal of a 5-year contract with ACF, a records storage and preservation vendor used by the Town to organize and store land evidence records, deeds, mortgages and other important municipal documents. Management Information System (MIS) Director, Edward Warzycha, explained that the company's initial 5-year contract beginning Jan. 2008 has expired, and during that time a large portion of the Town's records were successfully scanned and preserved. He went on to state that if the Town changed vendors, it would lose a $400,000 investment and need to begin its record preservation process from scratch. "Because of the amount of work involved with this process, to go with another vendor would cause us to lose a …

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Summer Bus Contract, Historic Restoration Proposals Approved by Council

Both proposals were approved on behalf of the Parks and Recreation Department.

  Town Council members recently authorized Town Manager Tom Hoover to enter into a contract for summer bus transportation services with Ocean State Transit of Exeter at a cost of $47.50 per hour and 65 cents per mile. The services will be used for the Department of Parks and Recreation's 2013 Summer Playground Program. Program Supervisor Jason Licciardi explained that the total cost for this summer's services is anticipated to reach $53,000. The cost will be supported in the 2013-2014 operating budget and supplemented by the Department's transportation reserve account which is funded exclusively from summer camp enrollment fees.  According to Licciardi, of the two bids submitted to the Department, Ocean State Transit, for the fourth …

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