NEW: Cranston Mayor Hopkins Finds Path to Restore Cranston Senior Center Funding – on to City Council

Mayor Hopkins Identifies Path to Restore Senior Center Funding

Following our story this morning (see below), the Mayor of Cranston released this statement on the plan moving forward to restore funding for the Cranston Senior Center and other budget issues:

Mayor Kenneth J. Hopkins announced today that his administration has identified a budget path that would allow the City to restore funding for the Cranston Senior Center without seeking approval from the Rhode Island General Assembly to exceed the state-mandated 4% property tax levy cap.

After the City Council voted down the Mayor’s original budget proposal, the administration returned with a revised budget in compliance with the state’s 4% property tax levy cap. Meeting that requirement meant deep cuts had to be made, and the Cranston Senior Center was among the programs that lost funding in that process. Mayor Hopkins said that outcome was never acceptable to him, and that he directed his administration to keep working to find a responsible path to restore it.

Mayor Hopkins’s team continued working with the RI Division of Municipal Finance to determine whether Cranston qualified for any exemptions under state law. Based on municipal finance guidance received yesterday, it was determined that the city qualifies for an exemption related to non-residential tax revenue loss that would allow the Mayor to propose a 4.65% levy increase, or the numerical equivalent, and would authorize the City Council to enact up to that amount without requiring General Assembly approval. The exemption amount currently under discussion is $1,248,361, which represents approximately 0.65% above the levy cap.

Mayor Hopkins said that restoring the Senior Center’s funding is his recommendation for the additional revenue. “When the original budget was voted down and I needed to come back within the 4% cap, cuts were unavoidable,” said Mayor Hopkins. “I said it at the time, and I will say it again: losing the Senior Center in that process was never what I wanted.”

“I asked my team to keep looking, council members continued to fight for it, and residents made their voices heard. We found a responsible option through municipal finance, and my strong recommendation to the Council is to use it to restore funding to keep the Senior Center operational,” the Mayor explained.

The Mayor said the updated approach reflects his administration’s commitment to continuing to work on the budget until the final vote. “I understand people’s frustration with how this process has unfolded,” Hopkins said. “But I am not going to walk away from this just because the budget was already submitted. We will continue to work on ways to improve this budget, right up until the Council takes its final vote.”

The Senior Center provides programs, services, meals, social connection, wellness activities, and support for older residents across Cranston. “Our seniors and the people who advocated for them should know that their voices make a difference,” Hopkins said. “This funding exists because people refused to accept no for an answer, and I refused to stop looking. The budget is now in the Council’s hands, and I am confident they will do the right thing.”

Mayor Hopkins said the proposal keeps the decision to go over the tax cap at the local level and gives the Council a path to act without General Assembly intervention.

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Story TODAY, May 13, 2026

UPDATED: Cranston Senior Center Funding Restoration Appears Likely as Mayor Hopkins Revises Budget Strategy