§ 45-9-6. Composition of budget commission.
(a) If a budget commission is established under §§â€‚45-9-5 or 45-12-22.7, it shall consist of five (5) members: three (3) of whom shall be designees of the
director of revenue; one of whom shall be the elected chief executive officer of the
city; and one of whom shall be a council member of the town or city elected to serve
on the budget commission as chosen by a majority vote of said town or city council.
In cities or towns in which the elected chief executive officer for purposes of this
chapter is the president of the city or town council, one member shall be the appointed
city or town manager or town administrator (or, if none, the city or town chief financial
officer) as the fifth member. For a fire district, it shall consist of five (5) members:
three (3) of the members of the budget commission shall be designees of the director
of revenue; one shall be the chairperson of the district's governing body; and one
shall be the fire chief of the district. The budget commission shall act by a majority
vote of all its members. The budget commission shall initiate and ensure the implementation
of appropriate measures to secure the financial stability of the city, town, or fire
district. The budget commission shall continue in existence until the director of
revenue abolishes it.
The budget commission shall be subject to chapter 2 of title 36, "Access to Public Records,� and chapter 14 of title 36, "Code of Ethics.� The budget commission shall be subject to chapter 46 of title 42 "Open Meetings� when meeting to take action on the following matters:
(1) Levy and assessment of taxes;
(2) Rulemaking or suspension of rules;
(3) Adoption of a municipal or fire district budget;
(4) Approval of collective bargaining agreements and amendments to collective bargaining
agreements; and
(5) Making a determination under §â€‚45-9-7 that the powers of the budget commission are insufficient to restore fiscal stability
to the city, town, or fire district.
(b) Action by the budget commission under this chapter shall constitute action by the
city, town, or fire district for all purposes under the general laws, under any special
law, and under the city, town, or fire district charter.
(c) Until the budget commission ceases to exist, no appropriation, borrowing authorization,
transfer, or other municipal or fire district spending authority, shall take effect
until approved by the budget commission. The budget commission shall approve all appropriations,
borrowing authorizations, transfers, and other municipal or fire district spending
authorizations, in whole or part.
(d) In addition to the authority and powers conferred elsewhere in this chapter, and notwithstanding
any city, town, or fire district charter provision, or local ordinance, or rule or
regulation to the contrary, the budget commission shall have the power to:
(1) Amend, formulate, and execute the annual municipal or fire district budget and supplemental
municipal or fire district budgets of the city, town, or fire district, including
the establishment, increase, or decrease of any appropriations and spending authority
for all departments, budget commissions, committees, agencies or other units of the
city, town, or fire district; provided, however, that notwithstanding §§â€‚16-2-9 and 16-2-18, this clause shall fully apply to the school department and all school spending purposes;
(2) Implement and maintain uniform budget guidelines and procedures for all departments;
(3) Amend, formulate and execute capital budgets, including amending any borrowing authorization,
or financing or refinancing of any debt in accordance with the law;
(4) Amortize operational deficits in an amount as the director of revenue approves and
for a term not longer than five (5) years;
(5) Develop and maintain a uniform system for all financial planning and operations in
all departments, offices, boards, commissions, committees, agencies, or other units
of the city's, town's, or fire district's government;
(6) Review and approve or disapprove all proposed contracts for goods or services;
(7) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, establish, increase, or
decrease any fee, rate, or charge, for any service, license, permit, or other municipal
or fire district activity, otherwise within the authority of the city, town, or fire
district;
(8) Appoint, remove, supervise, and control all city, town, or fire district employees
and have control over all personnel matters other than disciplinary matters; provided,
that the budget commission shall hold all existing powers to hire and fire and set
the terms and conditions of employment held by other employees or officers of the
city, town, or fire district; provided, further, that the budget commission shall
have the authority to exercise all powers otherwise available to a municipality or
fire district regarding contractual obligations during a fiscal emergency; provided,
further, that no city, town, or fire district employee or officer shall hire, fire,
transfer, or alter the compensation or benefits of a city, town, or fire district
employee except with the written approval of the budget commission; and provided,
further, that the budget commission may delegate or otherwise assign these powers
with the approval of the director of revenue;
(9) Alter or eliminate the compensation and/or benefits of elected officials of the city,
town, or fire district to reflect the fiscal emergency and changes in the responsibilities
of the officials as provided by this chapter;
(10) Employ, retain, and supervise such managerial, professional, and clerical staff as
are necessary to carry out its responsibilities; provided, however, that such employment,
retention and supervisory decisions are subject to the approval of the director of
revenue; provided, further, that the budget commission shall not be subject to chapter 2 of title 37 or chapter 55 of title 45 in employing such staff; provided, further, that the budget commission, with the
approval of the director of revenue, shall have authority to set the compensation,
terms, and conditions of employment of its own staff; provided, further, that the
city, town, or fire district shall annually appropriate amounts sufficient for the
compensation of personnel hired under this clause as determined and fixed by the budget
commission; provided, further, that, if the city, town, or fire district fails to
appropriate such amounts, the director of revenue shall direct the general treasurer
to deduct the necessary funds from the city's, town's, or fire district's distribution
of state aid and shall expend those funds directly for the benefit of the budget commission;
(11) Reorganize, consolidate, or abolish departments, commissions, authorities, boards,
offices, or functions of the city, town, or fire district, in whole or in part, and
to establish such new departments, commissions, authorities, boards, offices, or functions
as it deems necessary, and to transfer the duties, powers, functions and appropriations
of one department, commission, board, office, or other unit to another department,
commission, authority, board, or office, and in connection therewith, remove and appoint
new members for any such commission, authority, board, or department which appointees
shall serve the remainder of any unexpired term of their predecessor;
(12) Appoint, in consultation with the director of revenue, persons to fill vacancies on
any authority, board, committee, department, or office;
(13) Sell, lease, or otherwise transfer, real property and other assets of the city, town,
or fire district with the approval of the director of revenue;
(14) Purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire, property or other assets on behalf of the city,
town, or fire district with the approval of the director of revenue;
(15) Enter into contracts, including, but not limited to, contracts with other governmental
entities, and such other governmental entities are hereby authorized to enter into
such contracts;
(16) Adopt rules and regulations governing the operation and administration of the city,
town, or fire district that permit the budget commission to effectively carry out
this chapter under §â€‚42-35-3(b);
(17) Alter or rescind any action or decision of any municipal or fire district officer,
employee, board, authority, or commission within fourteen (14) days after receipt
of notice of such action or decision;
(18) Suspend, in consultation with the director of revenue, any rules and regulations of
the city, town, or fire district;
(19) Notwithstanding any other general law, special act, charter provision, or ordinance,
and in conformity with the reserved powers of the general assembly pursuant to Article
XIII, section 5 of the constitution of the state, a budget commission is authorized
to issue bonds, notes, or certificates of indebtedness to fund the deficit of a city,
town, or fire district without regard to §â€‚45-12-22.4, to fund cash flow and to finance capital projects. Bonds, notes, or certificates
of indebtedness issued under authority of this chapter shall be general obligation
bonds backed by the full faith and credit and taxing power of the city, town, or fire
district; provided, however, that the budget commission may pledge future distributions
of state aid for the purpose of retiring such bonds, notes, or certificates of indebtedness.
If any state aid is so pledged, the budget commission shall execute on behalf of the
city, town, or fire district a trust agreement with a corporate trustee, which may
be any bank or trust company having the powers of a trust company within the state,
and any state aid so pledged shall be paid by the general treasurer directly to the
trustee to be held in trust and applied to the payment of principal and interest on
such bonds, notes, or certificates of indebtedness; any earnings derived from the
investment of such pledged aid shall be applied as needed to the payment of that principal
and interest and for trustee's fees and related expenses, with any excess to be paid
to the city, town, or fire district. Bonds, notes, or certificates of indebtedness
authorized under authority of this chapter shall be executed on behalf of the city,
town, or fire district by a member of the commission and, except as provided for in
this chapter, may be subject to the provisions of chapter 12 of title 45 so far as apt, or may be subject to the provisions of any special bond act enacted
authorizing the issuance of bonds of a city, town, or fire district so far as apt;
provided, however, that any bonds or notes issued for school purposes must be approved
by the general assembly in order to qualify for school housing aid as set forth in
chapter 7 of title 16; and
(20) Exercise all powers under the general laws and this chapter, or any special act, any
charter provision or ordinance that any elected official of the city, town, or fire
district may exercise, acting separately or jointly; provided, however, that with
respect to any such exercise of powers by the budget commission, the elected officials
shall not rescind nor take any action contrary to such action by the budget commission
so long as the budget commission continues to exist.
(21) Certify to the Rhode Island department of revenue the need to advance payments of
the state's basic education program under chapter 7 of title 16 in the amount determined by the budget commission. Said amount shall be advanced,
subject to approval of the director of the department of revenue, notwithstanding
any general or public law to the contrary. The director of the department of revenue
shall provide notice of any advance payments to the fiscal advisors of the house and
senate finance committees. The state general treasurer shall deduct the estimated
cost to the state's general fund resulting from any advance payments.