What to Know About Tonight's Town Financial Meeting in Smithfield

Smithfield voters will have their say on the town's proposed fiscal 2014 budget at tonight's Town Financial Meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. at Smithfield High School.

Up for consideration is the town's $63.25 million spending plan — of which about $33 million is budgeted for schools — as well as a town council plan to until the results of a performance audit are known.

That money is considered a separate account from the school budget, Town Solicitor Edmund Alves Jr. told the Valley Breeze — which means if a motion is made at tonight's meeting to give the school department the money with no strings attached, it would be out of order.

Alves explained that, since a request for $450,000 in additional funding to schools had not been filed by May 14, it could not be proposed at the town financial meeting — however, a $300,000 request made at a previous budget hearing could be offered, the Valley Breeze reported.

School officials have protested the audit, saying that it would be finished too late to affect the upcoming budget, and that it would harm the school district's ability to recall teachers who would otherwise be laid off and be eligible to collect unemployment insurance.

Any budget increase requires 80 percent of financial meeting voters to pass.

If approved, the proposed budget would raise the residential property tax rate from $16.02 to $17.52 per $1,000 in valuation, meaning a $300 increase for the owner of a home assessed at $200,000.

Here's the run-down of tonight's meeting:

Who: Smithfield Town Council, School Committee, town officials, and voters.

What: Town Financial Meeting, the annual approval of the town budget.

Where: Smithfield High School.

When: 7 pm, June 13, 2013.

Why: Town officials are scheduled to present their fiscal 2014 budget plan before voters for approval. Votes on the school appropriation, the addition of two emergency management technicians to the Smithfield Fire Department, and the potential hiring of a police detective are among the motions that may be brought before voters.