Coventry town councilor proposes new transparency legislation amid recall efforts

COVENTRY, R.I. (WLNE) — Coventry residents were raising questions and working towards a recall after a fiery town council meeting regarding fiscal transparency.

Councilman Jonathan Pascua of District 1 introduced new legislation to increase financial transparency for the town, coming on the heels of new efforts to recall council members from their seats.

“Why is it our taxes keep going up and yet we don’t find out where the money’s going?” Resident Denise Wolf said.

Wolf and other community members were outside Western Coventry Elementary Thursday morning to sign petitions to recall council members who they said are trying to get around the town’s charter.

Organizers said they collected more than 300 signatures so far.

Pascua published a video to Facebook that detailed new legislation he hoped will move towards a turning point for the town.

“It’s about ensuring accountability across all departments,” he said. “It’s a tool to help keep our operations in check, and to provide transparency to the people we serve.”

The three main tenants of the proposal would require councilmembers to step in if any department trends toward being 5% over budget, that all councilmembers would be given unredacted invoices, and that all invoices would have to go through the town manager and the finance director.

Community members said it was a step in the right direction, but might be too little too late.

“The two people who were the whistleblowers are not there anymore to look at the paperwork and what he’s proposing doesn’t say that town councilors need to look at the paperwork,” Stacie Nichols said.

Both sides will have the opportunity for further discussion during their upcoming meeting on April 22.