FY27: The Budget & The Bond Problem
In February 2026, North Smithfield residents voted to issue a $9,000,000 bond for the police station. By August 2026, the project had already grown to $10,900,000. While we received a very competitive “true interest cost” rate (3.619%), have we been proactive about interest costs, or did Town Council make reactive decisions that may cost us in the future?
Town Council voted to cover the first two years of interest with cash on-hand. We won’t have that cash in FY29. Are we in a financially stable position to face this in two years? It’s not an easy answer.
The Big Picture
North Smithfield: FY2023-FY2027
The budget is in gold (on top). The total tax revenue we bring in (dark green, dashed) grows much more slowly — and actually fell in FY23. The rest of the budget's growth is covered by state aid, fees, and other non-tax revenue.
FY28–FY29 Total Tax Revenue Planner
In FY2029, the Town will need to start covering the new Police Station bond payment on its own — $777,075 a year — instead of pulling it from reserves. On top of that, the budget has grown by about $884,326 a year on average over the last four years just from normal costs. So: how much do we need to raise the total tax revenue over the next two years so the town isn't caught short? Play with the sliders below.
4% cap check reflects Rhode Island's statutory maximum annual levy increase (R.I. Gen. Laws §44-5-2). Growth rates here are the actual total dollar revenue increase year over year, not the tax rate. "On target" (green) covers anywhere from $500 under to $10,000 over the target — a small cushion since overshooting slightly is safer than falling short. Sliders move in 0.001% increments so the solve button can land inside that range reliably.
Where the priorities have shifted
North Smithfield general fund, FY2022 to FY2027 — six adopted budgets, department by department
Who gained ground, who lost it
Change in each department's share of the total budget, FY2022 → FY2027, in percentage points. This is the number that actually answers "is spending on X up or down relative to everything else" — a department can grow in dollars every year and but our town priorities may change, and the % of the overall budget decreases. We have invested less in schools the last few years. Are these your values?
For every $100 in taxes
A similar visualization of our budget over time, but here you can see each piece of our government stacked up, where the top of the graph equals 100% of our budget.