Cranston Council President Submits Resolution for 5.5% Tax Hike
GoLocalProv News Team
Cranston Council President Submits Resolution for 5.5% Tax Hike
City Council President Dan Wall has submitted a resolution to increase the taxes in Cranston by 5.5%.
“Resolution In Support of the Rhode Island General Assembly Legislation Authorizing the City of Cranston a One-Year Levy Cap Exemption for Fiscal Year 2027 Not to Exceed Five and One Half Percent (5.5%) Under R.I.G.L. Sec. 44-5-2; Sponsored by Council President Wall,” states the resolution.
This resolution will be considered on Thursday night. If adopted, the tax hike will need to be approved by the General Assembly, as it exceeds the 4% annual cap.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTCranston Mayor Ken Hopkins has proposed a 4% tax hike and many controversial cuts. On Wednesday, the Mayor announced revisions.
The Cranston City Council has been in near non-stop controversy over the past few years.
In recent years, one Cranston Council member, Matthew Reilly, has been charged with multiple felonies, and another prominent council member was involved in a conflicted affair.
Wall Defends Council, Calls for Changes in Oversight
“Once we give the Mayor the budget after May 15th, he directs the spending. The only semblance of oversight the City Council has is this. We generally get a monthly report that comes approximately one month to one and a half months after the money has been spent. I certainly, as we go forward, I certainly think we should propose ordinances in our city, given this crisis, to actually give the Council more legitimate oversight," said Wall.
But Wall did not address the failure of the City Council’s Audit Committee.
GoLocal pointed out that there is by Ordinance (Sec 3.04.110) an Audit Committee that has year-long responsibilities regarding the monitoring of city finances. It is supposed to meet quarterly to monitor the budget and spending and file quarterly reports to the Council Finance Committee.
Councilman Andy Andujar has been Chair of the Audit Committee since September 2025, when Jessica Marino stepped down as Council President and Wall became Council President (formerly, he had been the Finance Committee Chair).
During a meeting of the Audit Committee, which was called for March 2, 2026, but only lasted two minutes (5:40 pm to 5:42 pm). Andujar had failed to invite the independent auditor from Clifton Larson Allen LLP (CLA) to discuss the fiscal year 2025 audit.
On Tuesday, Citywide Cranston City Councilman Christopher Edward Buonanno called the revised budget plan released by Hopkins a “spite budget." Specifically, Buonanno cited the closing of the Cranston Senior Center, included in Hopkins' revised budget.
Senior Center Funding Restored?
After Hopkins submitted a revised budget and faced widespread criticism, his office announced proposed revisions.
Hopkins announced Wednesday that his administration has identified "a budget path that would allow the City to restore funding for the Cranston Senior Center without seeking approval from the Rhode Island General Assembly to exceed the state-mandated 4% property tax levy cap."
After the City Council voted down the Mayor’s original budget proposal, Hopkins said, "the administration returned with a revised budget in compliance with the state’s 4% property tax levy cap. Meeting that requirement meant deep cuts had to be made, and the Cranston Senior Center was among the programs that lost funding in that process. Hopkins said that outcome was never acceptable to him, and that he directed his administration to keep working to find a responsible path to restore it."
Hopkins’s office claims it continued "working with the RI Division of Municipal Finance to determine whether Cranston qualified for any exemptions under state law. Based on municipal finance guidance received yesterday, it was determined that the city qualifies for an exemption related to non-residential tax revenue loss that would allow the Mayor to propose a 4.65% levy increase, or the numerical equivalent, and would authorize the City Council to enact up to that amount without requiring General Assembly approval. The exemption amount currently under discussion is $1,248,361, which represents approximately 0.65% above the levy cap."
Hopkins claims that restoring the Senior Center’s funding is his recommendation for the additional revenue. “When the original budget was voted down, and I needed to come back within the 4% cap, cuts were unavoidable,” said Hopkins. “I said it at the time, and I will say it again: losing the Senior Center in that process was never what I wanted.”
The Council will be taking up the budget again on Thursday night.