Last week, the Town Council finalized the 2023 budget for presentation at the Financial Town Meeting on May 2. Town Manager Maryanne Crawford summarized the changes, explaining that an additional $25,000 would be going to the Block Island Volunteer Fire Department, by shifting $5,000 from the Medical Center and $20,000 from the GIS and Technology section of the budget. The $20,000 was taken from the tech consultant line and the tech replacement line. Doctor Warcup had volunteered $5,000 of the Medical Center’s budget at a previous meeting.There will be an additional $40,000 put toward radio repeaters to work toward eliminating the “dead zones” on the island for the fire, police, and rescue radios. Initially, $20,000 was taken from the Old Harbor electrical system upgrade line item to fund it, but Fire Chief Chris Hobe explained that the town needs three of the repeaters, which cost $50,000 each. The $20,000 “doesn’t get it up and running,” according to Hobe. He told the council that if the council could get to $40,000, the fire department could fund the rest. He said the department wanted to get one of the radio repeaters and see how it works, with the goal to
