Ask the City yourself.
A practical guide for any Warwick resident, whatever you think of the plaza: where the budgets are, how to speak at a City Council meeting, and how a public records request works.
Start with the City’s own documents.
Warwick posts its General Fund budgets on the Finance Department’s budget page, which lists budgets back to FY2005, including the approved FY2026 budget and the proposed FY2027 budget. The same page lists audited annual financial reports. City budgets refer to the plaza as “Apponaug Rink.”
Warwick General Fund budgets ↗ · The documents this site uses
Public comment at City Council.
The City Council page says agendas are posted before meetings and minutes once approved. Agendas for the Council and other boards are in the City’s Agenda Center.
The March 23, 2026 regular meeting agenda describes public comment under Council Rule 41: a period of up to 30 minutes; each citizen signed up and present may speak for up to five minutes, with time split evenly if more than six are signed up; time is not transferable; topics must directly affect City government; and Council members will not respond to questions during the period. Check the current agenda, since rules can change. That agenda does not explain how to sign up, so ask the City Clerk’s Office. People needing interpreter services or other accommodations are asked to notify the Clerk’s Office at least 48 hours in advance.
City Council page ↗ · Agenda Center ↗ · March 23, 2026 agenda ↗
How a Rhode Island public records request works.
Rhode Island’s Access to Public Records Act (APRA), R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 38-2, gives every person the right to inspect or copy public records, subject to the law’s exceptions. In general terms, under § 38-2-3:
- Each public body must have written procedures naming a public records officer or unit and explaining how and where to make a request. Ask Warwick for its procedures first.
- A written request does not have to be on the body’s own form if it is readily identifiable as a records request, and written requests cannot be required for documents already available to the public.
- The body must permit inspection or copying within ten business days, or explain in writing why it needs up to 20 more business days for a voluminous request.
- The requester is responsible for the actual cost of delivery, if any.
If you believe a public body violated APRA, the Attorney General’s Open Government Unit accepts complaints. Records held by the City are requested from the City, not the Attorney General. A question sent to City Hall is not automatically a formal public-records request.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-3 ↗ · RI Attorney General, Open Government Unit ↗
This is a general summary, not legal advice. Read the statute and the City’s procedures before filing.
Questions worth asking.
Use specific fiscal years and distinguish approved budgets from projections, recorded receipts and final results.
- What written attendance, pricing, sponsorship, concession, rental and seasonal-use assumptions supported the original revenue estimate?
- Why does the approved FY2026 budget show $723,546 in rink revenue while the proposed FY2027 budget identifies the FY2026 adopted amount as $798,546?
- What actual revenue has been recognized by month and source from skating, rentals, bumper cars, concessions, events, advertising, sponsorships and naming rights?
- What actual expenses have been charged to the facility, and what related costs are recorded elsewhere?
- What changed to support exactly $671,511 in requested FY2027 revenue—the precise amount of requested expenses?