Rhode Island § 45-9-11 - Budget Commissions

§ 45-9-11. Expenditures in excess of appropriations prohibited.

(a) No official of a city, town, or fire district that is subject to the jurisdiction of a fiscal overseer, budget commission, or receiver, except in the case of an emergency involving the health and safety of the people or the people’s property declared by the city or town council or fire district governing body, shall knowingly expend, or cause to be expended, in any fiscal year any sum in excess of that official’s departmental or other governmental unit’s appropriation duly made in accordance with the law, nor commit the city, town, or fire district, nor cause it to be committed, to any obligation for the future payment of money in excess of that appropriation, with the exception of court judgments.

(b) An official who intentionally violates this section shall be personally liable to the city, town, or fire district for any amounts expended in excess of an appropriation to the extent that the city, town, or fire district does not recover such amounts from the person or persons to whom such amounts were paid and shall not be indemnified by the city, town, or fire district for any such amounts. The superior court shall have jurisdiction to adjudicate claims brought by the city, town, or fire district, or on the city’s, town’s, or fire district’s behalf by a budget commission established under this chapter, and to order relief that the court finds appropriate to prevent further violations of this section. A violation of this section shall be sufficient cause for removal.

(c) For the purposes of this section, the word “official” shall mean a city, town, or fire district department head, permanent, temporary, or acting, including the superintendent of schools, and all members of municipal boards, committees, including the school committee, and commissions that recommend, authorize, or approve the expenditure of funds, and the word “emergency” shall mean a major disaster, including, but not limited to, flood, drought, fire, hurricane, earthquake, storm or other catastrophe, whether natural or otherwise, that poses an unexpected and immediate threat to the health and safety of persons or property.