Mayor Donald R. Grebien Delivers FY2026 Budget Address Focused on Stability, Schools, and Services
PAWTUCKET, RI — On May 16th, Mayor Donald R. Grebien presented his proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget to the Pawtucket City Council, outlining a plan that continues to prioritize strong city services, public safety, infrastructure, and education, while navigating the economic pressures facing municipalities across Rhode Island and the nation. A copy of the Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal is available here, and below is the Mayor’s full budget address presented before the Pawtucket City Council.
A public hearing on the FY 2026 city budget will be held on Wednesday, May 21st at 7:00 PM at the Pawtucket Municipal Annex building (100 Freight Street).
Mayor Donald R. Grebien FY 2026 Pawtucket Budget Address To The Pawtucket City Council
- Good evening, Council President Mercer, Honorable members of the City Council, and residents of the great City of Pawtucket.
- I want to start by thanking the Council for your hard work and dedication to our city. We may not always agree, but working together and in concert with the School Committee, we are all dedicated to moving our city forward. It is in that spirit that I present my administration’s proposed Fiscal Year 2026 city budget.
- A budget that continues to invest in our schools, in our roads, in our parks, in our police and fire departments, and constantly improving the strong city services our residents rely on.
- Just like other cities and towns across Rhode Island, we are feeling the impacts of inflation and the loss of federal ARPA dollars. As such, this has been one of the more challenging budgets we have had to propose in several years.
- Before speaking to the specifics of the FY 2026 budget, I want to remind everyone of how far our city’s finances have come.
- When I took office 15 years ago, Pawtucket was on the verge of a state takeover, or worse, the prospect of bankruptcy. We had limited reserves and a low bond rating.
- However, through hard work, prudent fiscal management, and collaboration with the City Council, we have turned our city’s finances around and created a strong base.
- Indeed, we now enjoy strong credit ratings of A+, with a stable outlook from Fitch, and A3 from Moody’s. The City’s reserves are at 10% of the budget.
- It is in large part due to these strong credit ratings that we have been able to lead Rhode Island in investing in public buildings, including renovated and brand new public school buildings for our city’s students and teachers, who deserve modern, 21st-century learning environments.
- Many of you joined me a few weeks ago for the groundbreaking ceremony for our new Pawtucket High School. It was a joyous day for our city, our teachers, and for future generations of Pawtucket students who will have the most modern high school learning environment in the state.
- We should all be proud of this incredible project. One that was made possible by this City Council, which believed in the project and placed bond questions on the ballot for this and several other school facility projects. Bond questions that were all overwhelmingly approved by the voters of Pawtucket, who understood and supported the need to invest in our public schools.
- We are seeing the fruits of those investments today, with new and renovated school buildings opening across Pawtucket, and our new high school set to open in 2028.
- This is what investing in our city looks like, and it is all thanks to the strong financial base we have built together.
- We will maintain that base and continue these important investments, but there is no question that we are facing a challenging fiscal environment. The impacts of inflation are hitting our city’s finances in the same way they are hitting the wallets of the residents of Pawtucket.
- Our health insurance costs are up 7%.
- Our dental insurance costs are up 4%.
- Our contractual agreement costs are up 3%.
- Along with a decrease of tangible revenue of 1.9M.
- And due to our work to ensure receiving maximum reimbursement from the state for our school building projects, our debt service costs have jumped up by 49%.
- To accommodate these increases, we could not put this full burden on the taxpayers. We eliminated 27 vacant positions and level-funded most departments to reduce the needs for the FY 2026 budget, which proposes a 6.36% tax increase.
- The needs of the schools alone would have increased the request to 9% from last year and has been approved by the Rhode Island Department of Revenue to exceed the state’s mandated property tax cap for FY 2026. This approval was granted due to the increased debt service requirements Pawtucket is experiencing, and in anticipation of legislation passing at the General Assembly creating a new non-owner occupied property tax rate in our city.
- I do not propose this increase lightly, and my administration has done everything possible to keep costs down while maintaining the critical investments in our schools, public safety, and city services that our residents deserve and rely on.
- For the average Pawtucket homeowner, this will translate into roughly $21 more per month in taxes.
- To ease the burden on our homeowners, this budget creates a new non-owner occupied tax rate. Shifting a portion of the property tax burden onto those who own rental properties in our city (Note: this affects myself and members of the council). These property owners benefit from city services, yet are currently not paying their fair share of taxes. I am confident that legislation creating this new non-owner occupied tax rate will be approved by the General Assembly, and will be adopted as part of the FY 2026 city budget.
- I can understand Council members and residents expressing concern that our debt service costs have jumped to 49%. I want to reassure you that this jump is due to how we have managed our debt costs to obtain maximum reimbursement from the state, and to ensure that our new school construction projects have been able to start on time.
- My administration, this City Council, and the residents of Pawtucket have overwhelmingly supported upgrading or replacing our city’s aging school buildings. These costs span from that very prudent investment. One that will pay dividends for our city for decades to come.
- When it comes to our schools, we are still unfortunately dealing with a cloudy financial picture. My administration is working closely with interim Superintendent Randy Buck to get a better handle on the School Department’s finances, which he inherited.
- I am confident that under the leadership of interim Superintendent Buck, the School Department’s finances will be stabilized. I am also confident that the Pawtucket School Committee will soon have the clarity they need to present a school budget to this Council.
- Knowing that we must continue to invest in improving Pawtucket Public Schools, particularly at a time when several are implementing state-mandated improvement plans, my FY 2026 budget proposes contributing an additional $500,000 to our public schools.
- This is the first time in 5 years that we have increased the city’s budget for operational expenses to our schools. Each year, we have continued to fund the increased debt service payments for the new and renovated school facilities. Like you, I believe this is a critical investment in the future of public education and the future success of Pawtucket students, who deserve a great education.
- On the city side, we continue to:
- Upgrade equipment and resources within the Police and Fire Department, as well as increase recruitment and hiring.
- Invest in upgrading our parks and public spaces. The Slater Park tennis courts, SanBento Park were upgraded this past season, with others such as the Oakhill Tennis Courts and Morley field will see improvements this coming year, and the city is in the process of finalizing the purchase of an additional 9.2 acres of green space.
- Invest in road repaving continues with 1.2M invested last year, paving another 4.783 miles last year
- City services such as bulky waste pick-ups, along with environmental and zoning enforcement, continue to be priorities.
- I understand that tax increases are never popular. However, I believe that this modest increase is necessary to continue the momentum that our great city is experiencing.
- Over the last 14 years, my administration along with this council has turned the city finances around and have done this with limited tax increases keeping the affordability of our residents in mind. Though this is a tough decision, I want to emphasize that this increase is essential; anything less will adversely affect the city’s finances and bond ratings
- Just look around, and you can see the impact of the proper investments we have made in recent years, and that this FY 2026 budget will continue:
- Beautiful new and renovated public school buildings for our students and teachers.
- A commuter rail station that is creating a vibrant new neighborhood with over 1,000 new residential units.
- Renovated and new public parks across the city, featuring new playgrounds, athletic and playing fields, and green walking trails.
- And of course the beautiful new Centerville Bank Stadium, which hosted Rhode Island FC’s inaugural game on May 3rd. The energy and excitement were palpable as we welcomed more than 10,000 fans to Pawtucket and our beautiful new stadium on the banks of the Pawtucket River. And just around the corner, is the needed development, housing and public amenities to come!
- I want to conclude by expressing my sincere gratitude to the City Council for your consistent commitment to being responsible stewards of our taxpayers’ resources. I look forward to working with you to pass a strong and responsible FY 2026 budget that continues to move Pawtucket forward.
- I also want to thank our dedicated team of city employees who consistently go above and beyond for our community as well as the new Superintendent and current members of the School Committee.
- Pawtucket is gaining momentum, and our future is bright.
- In the weeks ahead, I anticipate a productive partnership as we work towards a budget that truly reflects the priorities and needs of every Pawtucket resident.
