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Mayor’s Revised Cranston Budget Includes Major Cuts, Suspending Senior Center, Level Funding Schools

May 12, 2026/RINewsToday

Mayor Kenneth Hopkins has submitted a revised Cranston budget designed to comply with the city’s 4% tax levy cap after the City Council rejected his earlier proposal — but the new plan comes with sweeping reductions including the suspension of operations at the Cranston Senior Center, level funding for schools, and cuts across multiple city functions.

The Mayor had submitted a budget – with cuts, as well – with a 7+% tax increase to the Cranston City Council, which called for the Council and Mayor to ask the RI Legislature to approve the tax increase over 4% allowed. The Mayor had a “placeholder” legislation submitted by Minority Leader Rep. Chippendale, with it being understood that the Council had to ask the legislature to act upon it. The Council, led by President Dan Wall, said that it would not do that, and the Mayor should go back to the drawing board to come up with a budget within the allowable local increases. The knowledge that cuts would be deep was well known and explained to residents.

We are publishing the Mayor’s statement below, along with revised budget documents as provided to RINewsToday.

The biggest takeaways include the proposed suspension of senior services and level funding for Cranston schools.

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Mayor Hopkins Submits Revised 4% Budget Following Council Rejection of Original Fiscal Plan

“CRANSTON, RI — Mayor Kenneth J. Hopkins announced today that his administration will submit a revised municipal budget that limits the City’s tax levy increase to 4%, following the City Council’s rejection of the Mayor’s original budget proposal on April 29, 2026.

“The budget I introduced on April 15 was a difficult budget for the City and for taxpayers, but it was designed to meet the fiscal challenges we face,” said Mayor Hopkins. “Nobody likes to propose a tax increase. I certainly do not. But that proposal would have helped stabilize Cranston’s fiscal picture, protect essential services, and allow the City to meet its obligations responsibly.”

The Mayor’s original budget included a proposed tax levy increase above the 4% cap, along with difficult choices including workforce reductions and a realignment of how certain city services are delivered. Mayor Hopkins said the administration reviewed feedback from taxpayers, department heads, employees, and members of the City Council before preparing the revised proposal.

“I heard the concerns of taxpayers, and I share the concerns they face every day as they deal with affordability pressures in their own households,” Hopkins said. “Just as families are seeing increased costs for groceries, utilities, insurance, and basic necessities, local government is also facing rising costs for services, contracts, pensions, health care, public safety, schools, and infrastructure.”

Since the Council’s rejection of the original budget, Mayor Hopkins said his financial team has worked to identify alternatives that keep the levy increase within the 4% limit. He cautioned that remaining within the cap requires difficult decisions that affect city services.

“Under the City Charter, the Council has the authority to increase, decrease, or strike out items of appropriation, or to add items not included in the operating budget submitted by the Mayor,” Hopkins said. “Following the Council’s vote not to amend or approve my budget, my financial team and I went back through it to identify a path that could remain within the 4% levy limit while still allowing the City to operate.”

“We revisited many of the choices made in the initial budget and conveyed to the Council that there would be tougher choices to follow,” Hopkins said. “We also spoke with our employees through their bargaining units to ask whether there were opportunities for financial relief on behalf of taxpayers. Those conversations were not easy, and most existing contracts would require formal reopening and agreement by both sides.”

“As Mayor, I now find myself proposing a budget that is not my preferred path,” Hopkins said. “It affects city services and requires very difficult tradeoffs. But it complies with the 4% levy limit and provides the City Council with a budget it has the authority to approve.”

The revised 4% budget makes several targeted restorations and reductions in order to preserve core services while remaining within the Charter limit. The revised proposal restores funding for CCAP’s Head Start program, restores funding for the care of trees, restores two electricians and one carpenter in the Building Maintenance Department, and restores the Clean City Coordinator position at a lower pay grade.

To offset those restorations and remain within the 4% levy cap, the revised budget eliminates the City’s League of Cities and Towns dues, eliminates a transcriptionist position in the Cranston Police Department, provides for no administrative raises, and eliminates one position each in Parks and Recreation and the Highway Department. The Mayor noted that the police union also offered some savings opportunities for discussion, but those would need to be finalized as part of a multi-year agreement similar to other bargaining units.

The revised budget also identifies increased revenue from interest income generated by the Sewer Enterprise Fund and the Ice Rink Enterprise Fund, helping reduce pressure on taxpayers while keeping the levy increase within the 4% Charter limit.

The budget also level funds Cranston Public Schools and suspends operations at the Cranston Senior Center, two difficult decisions the Mayor said were necessary to keep the overall tax levy within 4%, but that he did not want to implement.

“Level funding the schools is not about ignoring their needs,” Hopkins said. “It is about recognizing that the City cannot continue to ask taxpayers to absorb every increase while every other department, employee group, and city service is being asked to make difficult adjustments. This budget requires shared responsibility.”

Hopkins also acknowledged the impact the revised budget would have on seniors. “Suspending operations at the Senior Center is not something I take lightly,” Hopkins said. “The Senior Center serves residents who deserve dignity, connection, and support. If this budget is adopted, we will work with community partners and other agencies to help connect seniors with available services and resources. But we hope this will not have to be the case.”

Hopkins said he remains willing to work with the Council but emphasized that any effort to restore additional funding must come with a clear funding source.

“I encourage the City Council to restore funding to the schools and the Senior Center, but restoring those funds means identifying real revenue, and that will likely mean supporting a tax levy increase above the 4% cap,” he said.

The Mayor said the revised budget is not his desired outcome, but it is a legally viable budget that keeps the City operating.

“This is not the budget I wanted to submit,” Hopkins said. “But after the original proposal was rejected, my administration had to build a budget that can be approved under the Charter and still keeps the City operating. These choices are difficult, but they are real, responsible, and necessary to stay within the 4% cap.”

Mayor Hopkins said his administration will continue to participate in the budget process and provide information to the Council as needed.

“This process now requires clear choices and honest discussion,” Hopkins said. “If members of the City Council want to reduce the budget further, those reductions should be identified. If they want to restore funding for services, the revenue to support those services must also be identified. Cranston taxpayers deserve a budget process that is transparent, responsible, and grounded in the fiscal realities facing our city.”

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Here is the link to the revised budget:

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Cranston is not alone in facing mounting municipal budget pressure.

In North Providence, officials are considering going above Rhode Island’s 4% tax cap amid rising costs and the loss of hospital-related tax revenue, with town leaders reportedly discussing an overall levy increase approaching 7%.

In Middletown, officials have also grappled with significant tax increase proposals tied to rising operational and school costs, while communities across Massachusetts continue to battle over Proposition 2½ override votes. In towns including Berkley, Easton, Dighton, Fairhaven and Lakeville, voters and local officials are increasingly confronting difficult choices involving taxes, schools and municipal services.

In Brookline, Massachusetts, voters recently approved a tax override projected to increase the levy by roughly 18% over three years in order to preserve schools and municipal services, while other communities in Massachusetts have rejected override requests entirely.

The ball is in their court – next up: Cranston City Council:

The political pressure now shifts back to the Cranston City Council, which is expected to take up the revised budget next week. Any effort to restore funding for senior services, schools or other reductions will likely reopen the debate over revenue, taxes and whether the city should again consider going to the RI legislature for exceeding the 4% cap.

We asked for an initial statement from Dan Wall, President of the Council and have not received a response.

The Council public meeting is set for next Monday at 7pm in the Council chambers at Cranston City Hall – the agenda has not yet been posted.

Members of the Cranston City Council, with links to their emails:

Emilia Vaziri

Richard D. Campopiano – Minority Leader

Christopher E. Buonanno

Ward 1 Bridget R. Graziano – Majority Leader

Ward 2 Kristen E. Haroian – Council Vice President

Ward 3 Andy M. Andujar

Ward 4 Frank J. Ritz Jr.

Ward 5 Michael A. Traficante

Ward 6 Daniel Wall – Council President