Tax Bills Issued; Due Date Extended

First-quarter payments on fiscal 2013 taxes are due Aug. 24, Mayor Joseph Polisena explained.

  Johnston Town Hall was inundated with calls last week from taxpayers looking for clarification on their new bills, Mayor Joseph Polisena explained during an interview yesterday. "Many of the concerns were the valuations of the vehicles, but it says right on there that the town doesn't control [car values] — the bottom line is that the General Assembly is the one who voted to put the car tax back on the cities and towns [in 2010]," Polisena said. Among the notices included in the tax mailing was a flyer printed in large, red uppercase type, which explained that "assessment values are established by the State of Rhode Island Vehicle Value Commission — not the Town of Johnston" [emphasis in original]. Polisena also said that the explanation…

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Johnston's Budget Looks Good — But Only on the Surface

Peter A. Filippi III writes that drastic steps — not more of the same — should have been part of the fiscal 2013 budget.

  To the Editor: This past June 18th, I spoke before the Town Council regarding the new budget that increased $1.2M, the equivalent of approximately 75 cents per $1,000 in property taxes or the equivalent of $150 in taxation for most homeowners. However, our mayor said he wasn’t going to pass the increase on this year — an election year. The bad news is, he stated the pension fund is now considered critical and could go belly-up in six years; the combined pension contributions that come from the budgets for the Fire Dept. and Police Dept. alone is approximately $4.5 million; the equivalent of $3 per thousand; $600 per average homeowner. At the meeting, he gave no insight regarding this dire economic forecast. As I highlighted some cost-…

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Johnston's Budget to Go Up — But Not Taxes

On Monday night, the Johnston Town Council voted 4-1 to approve Mayor Joseph Polisena's $90.7 million spending plan for fiscal 2013.

Even with an expected increase in town spending of about $1.2 million — or about 1.3 percent over current levels — Johnston's tax rate will not go up for fiscal 2013 under Mayor Joseph Polisena's budget, which the town council approved on Monday night by a 4-1 margin. Prior to the meeting, held at the Johnston Municipal Court, Polisena explained that the increase in costs will be covered by a higher tax collection rate in 2013 — meaning no hike in the town's current $24.75-per-$1,000 residential tax rate to cover the new $90.7 million spending plan. "Whatever bill [homeowners] got this year, they'll get the same bill next year," Polisena explained, adding he felt holding taxes level was important in the midst of the current financial …

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Peter A. Filippi III

7:20 pm on Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Sami & Bobby G I may run for mayor and if I get elected I have a host of ideas that will lower taxes substantially and enhance the financial security and peace of mind for all; who work in the private sector. We need to develop a taxpayers association in which we will have a voting block of folks who only want the best value for their buck. Please call and leave your # and in due time I’ll call …   more ›

5 Things To Know Today

June 15: Air Show This Weekend

It's June 15. Here are your 5 Things to Know Today.

Air Show: Beginning tomorrow down at Quonset State Airport is the 2012 Rhode Island National Guard Open House & Air Show. Gates open at 9:30 am — are your ready? Check out this article for all the facts. Nice Weather: Sunny today with temps in the 70s. Overnight lows in the 50s — and it looks like it's staying that way at least through the weekend. Finals: Did you catch our live blog of the Division II state finals last night, featuring the Johnston High School Panthers baseball squad? If not, check it out for all the play-by-play. No Hike: Mayor Joseph Polisena filed his proposal for the town's fiscal 2013 budget this week — and it includes no tax rate hike for next year. Active Kids: On this date last year, we posted a Mom's Talk Q&A …

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No Tax Hike Next Year in Mayor's Plan

Johnston's budget would surpass $90 million, but would not require an increase in the tax rate for homeowners, Mayor Joseph Polisena announced.

Property owners in Johnston would not face a tax increase in fiscal 2013, according to the budget proposed by Mayor Joseph Polisena and scheduled for a hearing before the town council on June 18. Polisena filed the budget ordinance — a basic overview of revenues and spending — with the town clerk's office on Tuesday. According to the document, the overall budget for the town would surpass $90 million, about a $1.16 million increase from this year's level, but would not require a hike in the $24.75-per-$1,000 residential property tax rate. Polisena's budget maintains the same town payment for the school department — $37.13 million, making 2013 the fifth year of level-funding — and includes an increase of $558,000 in state aid, as approved …

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Budget Hearing Set for June 18

The town council meeting to discuss Johnston's fiscal 2013 budget is scheduled for next Monday.

  Mayor Joseph Polisena is scheduled to propose his fiscal 2013 spending plan to the Johnston Town Council on June 18 at 7 pm at the Johnston Municipal Court. Following roughly four months of preparation — including the school committee's vote in March on its proposed $49.2 million budget — Polisena is expected to bring his plan to the council for discussion and a vote on Monday night. During a phone interview yesterday morning, Polisena confirmed the schedule of the hearing, and provided an optimistic assessment of the budget. "There's good news in it for everybody," Polisena explained. As has been his practice in the past, Polisena declined to discuss the specifics of the spending plan until the formal ordinance outlining the budget is …

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School Proposal Still $345K 'Above Target'

Supt. Dr. Bernard DiLullo said the Johnston School Committee plans to try and cut its fiscal 2013 spending plan after the Apr. 1 deadline to submit it to the town.

After three budget workshops — and in the face of three pending contracts — the Johnston School Committee on Mar. 22 approved its $49.2 million fiscal 2013 budget proposal with $345,000 left to cut if it hopes to meet Mayor Joseph Polisena's plan to level-fund all town departments. As it stands, the school budget would go up by about $878,000 — or 1.78 percent — under the proposal approved by the committee. The board's proposed budget anticipates a $533,000 increase in state funding. Supt. Dr. Bernard DiLullo, during a recent phone interview, said the board decided to approve the spending plan and submit it to the town by Apr. 1 "with the stipulation that there's obviously more work to be done on it." [The Town Charter requires the mayor …

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School Board Trims Budget Plan

Administrators and school committee members on Tuesday night identified about $250,000 in possible cuts to their original $49.5 million draft budget.

During their second of three planned budget workshops on Mar. 20, Johnston School Committee members recommended about $90,000 in potential reductions to their fiscal 2013 spending plan, with administrators offering another $161,000. Following the meeting, the budget stands at about $49.3 million, reduced from the original proposal of $49.5 million. School Commttee Chairwoman Janice Mele (Dist. 3) confirmed that she sees the board's task as bringing the budget in line with Mayor Joseph Polisena's stated intention to maintain the town's contribution of $37.1 million. "We still need $250,000" in cuts to bring the school budget down far enough to meet Polisena's number, Mele said. Member Robert LaFazia (Dist. 1), who is on the committee's …

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Your Government Handbook

Johnston Schools Draft Budget, Fiscal 2013

The Johnston School Committee is scheduled to hold a second budget workshop on its fiscal 2013 budget proposal on Tuesday night, Mar. 20, at 6 p.m.

Tomorrow night at 6 p.m. at Ferri Middle School, the Johnston School Committee is scheduled to hold its second budget workshop on its proposed $49.52 million spending plan for fiscal 2013. The draft budget presented at the first budget workshop, held Mar. 15, is attached to this article. Supt. Dr. Bernard DiLullo conducted a line-by-line review of the budget last Thursday, and committee members decided to withhold any suggestions for cuts in the spending plan. According to the budget document released by the school administration, the fiscal 2013 proposal currently seeks an additional $585,000 from the town, and an increase of about $533,000 from the state. Mayor Joseph Polisena has stated that he hopes to hold all town departments — …

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