Tiverton council approves administrator's $3.56 million casino-spending plan; school leaders say more needed

The Tiverton Town Council on Oct. 14 approved Town Administrator Patrick Jones's recommendation to allocate $3,561,130 in casino (gaming) revenue for town and school capital projects, leaving about $1.9 million in the gaming reserve account.

The motion to adopt the administrator's recommended distribution passed after brief discussion; Councilor Camino abstained from the final vote.

The administrator told the council the recommendation reduces total requests from roughly $5.9 million to about $3.56 million so the town keeps a reserve for future needs and unanticipated emergencies, including potential relocation of the recycling facility and large public-works projects that could arise before the town can execute longer-term plans.

Superintendent Brandon Haskins (speaking as the school department representative) urged the council to reconsider the school department's share. He said the administrator's recommendation represented roughly 27% of the school department's total request and 12% of all departmental requests, and asked the council to give the schools the same consideration as municipal departments. Haskins said the schools would return with supplemental requests in the spring, pointing to anticipated reimbursements the district expects to receive.

Administrator Jones said he recommended holding funds back to preserve flexibility for urgent health-and-safety projects across town buildings and to cover potential costs related to a future relocation of the recycling facility; he also asked the council to prioritize projects that are ready to go out to bid.

Council members debated process and timing, with several urging a longer-term capital plan (two-to-five years) to schedule larger purchases and avoid repeatedly reprioritizing as councils change. Several councilors also suggested using phased payments or partial prepayments for long-lead items (for example, fire apparatus) to capture manufacturer discounts while preserving working capital.

The council approved the recommendation on a motion to adopt the administrator's spending plan of $3,561,130; the motion passed (one abstention). The superintendent said the school department will return in March with supplemental requests tied to reimbursements.