The Town of New Shoreham called the citizenry together on Monday night for the annual Financial Town Meeting. The Board of Canvassers had elected to forego streaming of the event, as it felt that offering a video alternative would entice people to stay home and watch, rather than attending in person. Judging by the sparse attendance in the Block Island School gymnasium, people must have stayed home to watch something else anyway.A primary focus of the FTM, as stated in the warrant for the meeting, is to allow the community to determine what town services, operations, and capital improvements will be funded for the upcoming year. The annual operating and capital budget, which is prepared by the Town Manager and staff andapproved by the Town Council, is presented for the public for a vote.
Moderator Margaret O’Neill and Assistant Moderator Doug Michel presented each item listed on the warrant as well as each section of the budget, broken down by department.
The first item was the Block Island School’s request for $10.4 million in new bonding for renovations. As rain began to fall and loud, leaky-sounding splashes began to reverberate around the gymnasium, Superintendent Bob Girardi explained a
