The third time’s the charm.

 

At a special meeting on July 28, the Fall River City Council allowed for an “unanticipated” quick fix to the annual operating budget. Then councilors sped through a round of votes to approve the next 11 months of city spending after rejecting it two times over.

 

Councilors voted 8-1 in favor of the $483,583,582 million Fiscal 2027 budget after Chief Financial Officer Emily Arpke agreed to fully fund the Fall River Public Schools’ $17.1 million request to satisfy the costs of getting kids to school. 

 

City Councilor Christopher Peckham was the lone dissenter when it came time to vote at the end of an hourlong discussion where the two roadblocks — school transportation and a line item reserving $40,000 for a City Council lawyer — were virtually lifted.

 

When City Council President Cliff Ponte called for a five-minute recess during the meeting, Arpke rushed out of the Government Center hearing room to reduce one line item of $578,517 from the reserve fund and reallocate it, moving it higher up on the balance sheet to school transportation.

 

The last-minute modification came about as Superintendent Kathleen Smith maintained that the $17.1 million would ensure student transit was covered. The district was looking for an additional $450,000 after the city agree to partially fund transportation out of the gate at around $16,650,000.

 

The Council’s request that they have an expenditure item to retain legal counsel if they deemed it necessary was satisfied in a Memorandum of Agreement, that stated the city would provide the $40,000 for legal consultation.

 

See more at heraldnews.com.