A grandfather and child looking across Warwick's waterfront

The Taxpayers’ Voice

Planning Warwick’s Future

Better Planning Today. A Stronger Warwick Tomorrow.

Warwick faces serious long-term financial challenges. Ignoring them will mean higher taxes, fewer services, and a harder future for our seniors, families, small business, and future generations.

My commitment is to plan ahead, make smarter decisions, and protect what matters most—our residents, our neighborhoods, and our city’s future.

The Financial Evidence

What the Numbers Tell Us

Warwick’s financial challenges did not develop overnight. These three trends show why better long-term planning cannot wait.

Future Bond Debt

$448 Million

Estimated bonded debt by 2029

Chart showing Warwick city and school bonded debt increasing through 2029

The construction of two new high schools will significantly increase Warwick’s bonded debt and require substantial annual debt payments for decades.

What the bond-debt research shows

  • Warwick’s city and school bonded debt is projected to increase sharply as borrowing for the two new high schools is completed.
  • The additional debt will place long-term pressure on future city budgets because principal and interest payments must be funded before money can be directed to other priorities.
  • This obligation will affect taxpayers and city services long after the current construction projects are completed.
Research basis

Analysis based on City of Warwick debt schedules, school construction borrowing estimates, and municipal financial records.

Planning School Resources

Building Utilization Statistics

2024–25 enrollment compared with building capacity

Warwick elementary school utilization table showing current enrollment compared with building utilization

Planning for Warwick’s future means regularly evaluating whether school facilities, enrollment, and operating costs remain aligned. Long-term planning helps taxpayers understand future financial obligations while ensuring educational resources continue to meet students’ needs.

Why This Matters

  • Several elementary schools are operating well below the capacity for which they were originally designed.
  • Lower building utilization does not automatically mean a school should close, but it does suggest that facility use should be reviewed as part of long-term planning.
  • Maintaining buildings with declining enrollment can increase operating and maintenance costs while limiting financial flexibility for future educational priorities.
  • Regular facility utilization studies provide taxpayers and elected officials with objective information when making long-term decisions about school investments.

This research is not intended to recommend school closures or reductions in educational services. Rather, it demonstrates why long-term planning should include regular reviews of enrollment trends, facility utilization, and future operating costs. Better information allows the community to discuss future options before financial pressures become crises.

Research basis

Analysis based on Warwick Public Schools 2024–25 enrollment data and 2017 RI Department of Education Warwick elementary school building capacity.

City Budget New Spending

$42 Million

Increase during the most recent ten-year period

Pie chart showing how new Warwick city tax revenue was allocated over the last ten years

Every annual budget begins with financial commitments that have already been made. These include current employee compensation—including salaries, healthcare, and payroll taxes—as well as retirement obligations such as pensions and retiree healthcare earned through prior years of service.

Why This Matters

  • Approximately 35% of new tax revenue over the past decade supported current employee compensation and benefits.
  • Approximately 39% funded previously earned retirement obligations.
  • Only about 26% of new tax revenue remained available for every other municipal priority.
  • That remaining share had to support roads and sidewalks, parks and recreation facilities, public buildings and infrastructure, equipment replacement, technology improvements, neighborhood investments, new municipal initiatives, and property tax relief.

This analysis is not intended to criticize employees or retirees. These are legal and financial commitments that the City must honor. The challenge is that as a larger share of every new tax dollar is committed before the budget process even begins, City leaders have less flexibility to invest in Warwick’s future or respond to changing community priorities. This is why I believe Warwick needs a Living Five-Year Financial Forecast. Understanding these trends before they become budget crises gives elected officials and taxpayers more opportunities to make thoughtful, gradual decisions instead of reacting after options have become limited.

Research basis

Analysis based on City of Warwick adopted budgets and the allocation of new city tax revenue over the most recent ten-year period.

We cannot change the decisions made yesterday.

But we can improve the decisions we make tomorrow.

My Platform

The Numbers Tell Us Warwick Must Plan Ahead

Warwick’s financial challenges will not be solved by one budget or one election. They require a long-term strategy that identifies future costs early, measures results, and gives taxpayers the information they need before major decisions are made.

My Plan for

Warwick’s Financial Future

Create a Long-Term Financial Planning Committee

Establish a City Council committee dedicated to examining Warwick’s long-term financial condition rather than focusing only on the next annual budget.

The committee would review:

  • Projected revenues and spending
  • Debt obligations
  • Pension and retiree healthcare costs
  • School funding
  • Capital and infrastructure needs
  • Major financial risks facing taxpayers

Maintain a Living Five-Year Financial Forecast

Require the City to maintain and regularly update a five-year forecast that reflects current financial information and changing assumptions.

The forecast should show taxpayers:

  • Where revenues are expected to come from
  • Which expenses are growing
  • The future cost of debt and employee benefits
  • Whether recurring revenues can support recurring expenses
  • Where future budget gaps may develop

Require Financial-Impact Reviews Before Major Decisions

Before the Council approves major borrowing, labor agreements, new programs, or recurring spending, taxpayers should be shown both the immediate cost and the projected long-term impact.

Each major proposal should answer:

  • What will it cost next year?
  • What will it cost in five years?
  • How will it be funded?
  • What alternatives were considered?
  • What financial risks are being passed to future taxpayers?

Conduct Operational Reviews and Audits When Needed

The committee should have the ability to recommend targeted operational reviews or audits when spending trends, service problems, or financial risks require closer examination.

The purpose would be to identify:

  • Outdated practices
  • Duplicated services
  • Opportunities to modernize
  • Areas where resources may be better aligned with community needs
  • Whether programs are achieving their intended results

Give Taxpayers Clearer and Earlier Information

Financial information should be made available before major decisions are finalized—not after taxpayers have little opportunity to influence the outcome.

The City should publish understandable summaries of:

  • The five-year forecast
  • Major debt obligations
  • Budget risks
  • Audit and operational-review findings
  • The long-term impact of major proposals
  • Recommendations being considered by the committee

Better planning will not eliminate every difficult decision.

It will allow Warwick to identify problems earlier, consider more options, and give taxpayers a meaningful voice in determining the City’s priorities.

Warwick’s future is not predetermined.

The decisions we make today will determine whether our city remains affordable, financially stable, and able to provide the services residents depend upon.