With Gov. Gina Raimondo extending shelter-in-place guidelines until May 8, the annual Financial Town Meeting will be delayed until a date closer to the end of the fiscal year, which closes out on June 30, 2020, if it can be held at all, according to town Financial Manager Amy Land.
The town’s finances through the end of the fiscal year, however, remain strong, said Land. It’s next year’s revenues that remain the big unknown.
“So between now and June 30, we’re in pretty good shape,” Land said, “assuming things don’t change too dramatically.” Land noted that “the budget authorization” that was approved at last year’s Financial Town Meeting “doesn’t expire on May 4. It expires on June 30.” May 4 was the scheduled date of the annual FTM.
The town had just completed the first phase of the budget process when the coronavirus pandemic shut things down. Department heads had submitted their budget requests for 2021, which totaled a little more than $15 million, and the public discussion was just beginning.
If the town is able to hold a Financial Town Meeting prior to the end of the
