Cranston’s Council Wants Eyes on the Money Before It’s Spent: After Back-to-Back Deficits, Contracts of $50,000 or More Would Need a Council Review, and the Final Vote Is Nov. 16

What happened

On Monday, Oct. 19, the Cranston City Council unanimously approved an amended ordinance that would give it a formal look at big capital-project contracts before they are signed. Contracts or change orders of $50,000 or more approved by the city’s Board of Contract and Purchase (BOCAP) could not be awarded or executed unless all related documents are uploaded to a BOCAP calendar “no later than two (2) business days prior to any meeting where the contract or change order is to be considered,” according to the Cranston Herald. Before final approval, BOCAP would have to send the council a “written request” for its recommendation, with “sufficient information and detail on the proposal.”

It is not law yet. Cutting the threshold in half, from $100,000 to $50,000, meant the ordinance had to be readvertised. The Herald reports a final vote is set for the council’s meeting on Monday, Nov. 16.

Why the council wants it

Council President Dan Wall introduced the original version in September. It would have required council approval of any contract or change order of $100,000 or more. At the Sept. 14 finance committee meeting, Wall pointed to the deficits that closed the last two budget years: “We are in a crisis … it is just a fact,” he said, according to the Herald. “If we do things exactly as we did it the last two years, logic will tell you we’re probably going to be in a similar place.” He called it “inherently wrong” for the council to pass a budget without enough detail on how the money is spent. As an example, he cited the replacement of a fountain in front of St. Mary Church.

The Herald put it plainly: “The council’s keen interest in closely tracking expenditures is not remarkable given that the administration over the last two years oversaw budget deficits in the millions of dollars.” It added that the mayor had proposed closing the gap in this year’s budget by closing the city’s senior center and cutting the school district’s budget, a plan the council rejected.

On Oct. 19, Councilman Christopher Buonanno said the measure will “protect the people of the city of Cranston from what’s happened, from happening again.” He added: “And if it happens again with this kind of thing in place, well then, shame on everybody.”

The pushback, and the compromise

The administration called the original plan a violation of the city charter and a separation-of-powers problem. City Solicitor Christopher Millea called it “legally unsound” and an “overreach,” and said it would bring the city’s ability to do business to “an absolute grind,” the Herald reported in September. Purchasing agent Mark Marchesi, who sits on BOCAP, agreed with the administration. Millea later warned the council it could face litigation if the ordinance passed as written.

Wall and the council’s lawyer then met with the administration. Wall said the rewritten version “still achieves the same goals without violating the charter.” Mayoral Chief of Staff Anthony Moretti said: “This is the way government should operate. … The administration didn’t disagree with the spirit” of the ordinance. Finance Director Robert Strom still argued that $50,000 was too low and “too cumbersome” for BOCAP. When Councilman Richard Campopiano noted that BOCAP meets twice a month and the council once, Wall interjected: “Or they will have to wait. That’s the other side – or they will have to wait.”

An AI-written Uprise RI recap of the meeting says Strom put the combined city and school deficit at $9.5 million for fiscal 2026 and said the city is running a balanced budget this year. We have not confirmed that figure in a second source.