Recap: Providence Panel Approves Water Budget, Traffic Camera Extension

Providence Water staff said the budget rises less than 1% and no rate increase is anticipated in the coming year. Red-light and speed cameras will switch from Modaxo Traffic Management to Verra Mobility on Feb. 1, staff said. The city's rented salt and truck space next to the DPW complex grows to about 48,000 square feet through May 31, 2027.

Providence, R.I. — The Providence City Council's Special Committee on Ways and Means on Tuesday approved Providence Water's roughly $98 million operating budget, a short extension of the city's red-light and speed camera contract, more salt storage space for winter and $282,000 in added city money for Trinity Rep's renovation project, according to the Providence Special Committee on Ways and Means' published meeting recording.

Chair Miguel Sanchez ran the meeting. Three of five members were present: Sanchez, Councilor Jill Davidson and Councilwoman Shelley Peterson. Vice-Chair James Taylor and Councilwoman Althea Graves were absent. Every item was approved by voice vote.

Water budget: flat spending, no rate increase expected A Providence Water finance official presented the utility's budget ordinances, which the chair said would be handled as one discussion. The official said the operating budget has $98 million in expenses and $98 million in revenue, an increase of less than 1% over last year. The official said Providence Water's budgets are enterprise funds, meaning they are paid for by water customers, so there is no impact to city finances.

The budget was approved by the Providence Water Supply Board and is consistent with rates authorized by the Public Utilities Commission, the official said. An apparent jump in one services line came from insurance funds the utility was allowed to move into its operating budget, a change the official described as neutral.

Councilor Davidson asked about the rate increase reflected in the budget. Staff said a rate increase in fiscal 2026 was about $7 million. Rather than take a second planned step of that increase, staff said, the utility covered a roughly $2 million rise in expenses by reducing a transfer to its infrastructure fund, keeping the change neutral to ratepayers. Asked whether an increase is anticipated in the coming budget year, a staff member answered, "No."

One member asked about five manager titles added to the pay classification. The official said they are placeholders for current employees who may be promoted, not new people, with a pay range from M15 to M18 and salaries probably closer to the $80,000 to $90,000 range. The only new position is a confidential executive manager, who would oversee administrative work in the executive office, the official said.

Asked about information and data security, the official said the utility has a cybersecurity team of about six or seven people and is recruiting for an AI-related position. A member asked whether any people of color hold the listed positions; the official said at least four do.

Water treatment filter contract The committee took a Providence Water filter contract out of order and approved it first. A presenter said the treatment plant has 18 filters, two of which are down, and generally needs 11 to 14 working. The contract covers rehabilitating filters and annual testing, so the utility can respond more quickly if others fail, the presenter said.

Rehabilitating a filter costs $1.5 million to $2 million each, staff said, and a filter can last 15 to 20 years depending on use. Staff said the first $5 million would be paid in cash from the utility's infrastructure program, which they said brings in $30 million a year through water rates, and that some later spending could be bonded. The contract runs five years, at a little less than $3 million a year, according to staff. The work was bid out and this vendor was the only one, a presenter said. Staff said a new filter building is not scheduled to be done until 2040.

Red-light and speed cameras: old vendor stays through January The committee approved a $1,890,000 extension of the city's contract with Modaxo Traffic Management, the current operator of its red-light and speed zone cameras. A city finance official said the city awarded the contract to a new vendor, Verra Mobility, in February 2026, but that the changeover requires coordination among the Police Department, DPW, the Municipal Court, Finance, the Controller's Office and Treasury, and is taking longer than expected.

Under the extension, Modaxo's cameras would turn off after Jan. 31 and Verra Mobility's would begin on Feb. 1, the official said, adding that the city would not pay double fees on any ticket. The official said camera revenue during that period is expected to more than offset the contract cost, and that ending the contract now would mean no camera citations while the new system goes live.

Councilwoman Peterson asked what will happen to the ticket data. The official said the city will receive a file of all outstanding receivables at the cutover and is working with Verra Mobility and the Municipal Court on options to collect them. Asked about costs, the official said the per-ticket fee under Verra Mobility was, the official thought, about half, which would save the city money. School bus cameras are a separate School Department contract, and parking enforcement is a separate contract through Passport, the official said.

More room for road salt and plow trucks The committee ratified a lease amendment, approved earlier by the Board of Contract & Supply, that more than doubles the space the city rents next to the DPW complex for salt storage. Staff said the city had rented about 20,000 square feet and is adding roughly 27,000 to 28,000 more, to about 48,000 square feet, for extra salt and for swing space to hold trucks while garage work is done.

The lease expires May 31, 2027, staff said. The total of $194,000 includes the original six-month lease that began last fiscal year, and the expansion is at the same per-square-foot rate, according to staff.

A councilor attending the meeting questioned why the city pays rent to ProvPort, the nonprofit port operator it gave a long-term tax arrangement. A city official responded that providing space was not part of that agreement, that the city's salt had been stored on Narragansett Bay Commission land until the commission took it back, and that the arrangement includes revenue sharing in lieu of taxes. Staff said a city request for proposals for salt space drew no responses, and that a lot on Washington Street across from Public Safety used last year will not be available.

One member said the city may need a long-term site and did not want to pay a premium for convenience if other options exist. A staff member said they did not think the city was necessarily paying a premium. A speaker also urged the city to look for a larger site that could hold both salt and hauled snow in a bad winter.

Trinity Rep gets $282,000 more for underground utility work The committee approved a $282,000 amendment to the city's agreement with Trinity Rep, which a city finance official said brings the contract to a little over $3.5 million. The official said that is above the amount approved in the capital improvement plan, the city's multiyear list of building projects, which is why it came to the committee. The official said interest earnings on the 2024 bond can offset the cost, with possible bond premium from the 2026 bond as a second source, and that the money will not take funding from any existing approved project.

Kate Liberman, Trinity Rep's executive director, said the project's scope has not changed. Liberman said moving underground electrical, sewer and water lines produced a total overage of $564,459, and that Trinity is asking the city to split it. She said the civil engineering drawings of what lay beneath the alley did not match what crews found, and said the errors came from maps the theater received from the city. A member of the project team said required line stops, used to stop water flow so pipes could be moved, meant renting $170,000 in equipment.

Liberman said the underground utility work is mostly complete, and when asked whether more change orders would follow, she said, "We won't come back with our hands up." She said she hopes the project is finished by next fall, Sept. 27, after supply chain delays.

One member asked whether this was the proper process for exceeding a capital plan amount. The finance official said that process has not been formalized with the council and administration, and that this route, through the Board of Contract & Supply and the council, seemed an appropriate middle ground. Another member said the case gives them caution about future projects and called for a better plan for funding or analysis. The resolution, as read into the record, requires approval by majority vote of the City Council.

The Trinity Rep amendment requires a City Council vote, according to the resolution. The camera changeover to Verra Mobility is set for Feb. 1, and the expanded salt lease runs through May 31, 2027, according to city staff.

Recap: Providence Panel Approves Water Budget, Traffic Camera Extension

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