Fall River Now — Weekly Recap, Week Ending July 31, 2026

Transcript Welcome to Fall River Now. This is our weekly recap for the week ending July 31, 2026, where we cover the most significant local government news. Topping the news this week, the City Council gave its final approval to the city budget. Councilors passed a nearly four hundred eighty-four million dollar budget for the next fiscal year at a special meeting on Tuesday. A key point of debate, the school transportation line item, was fully funded at seventeen-point-one million dollars, the amount requested by the School Committee. Also this week, a city council committee heard details on a major proposal to address flooding in the Stafford Square area. The plan, presented to the Committee on Public Safety, carries an estimated cost of thirty-seven million dollars. The committee also discussed the fire department's resource needs and ongoing commuter rail issues. The Fall River Redevelopment Authority is moving forward with a new dock at the city pier. The authority's board voted on Wednesday to award a two hundred twenty-nine thousand dollar contract for the project. In other action, the Board of Health voted Monday to suspend the tobacco license for a city market. The board, with members Thomas Cory and Michael J. Coughlin present, also approved new applications for tattoo practitioners. Looking ahead, several city meetings are on the calendar for next week. The Conservation Commission will meet on Monday, August third, followed by the Board of Park Commissioners on Wednesday, August fifth. A public ceremony to remember those affected by Agent Orange is also scheduled for Monday, August tenth, at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall. The event begins at six p.m. Fall River Now generates content via AI, like this podcast. Check FallRiverNow.com for more information. In this episode Fall River Council Committee Reviews Fire Department Needs, Hears $37M Stafford Square Flood Plan at July 30 Meeting Redevelopment Authority Awards $229,000 Contract for New City Pier Dock at July 29 Meeting Fall River City Council Passes $483.5M Budget, Fully Funds School Transportation on July 28 Fall River Board of Health Suspends Market’s Tobacco License at July 27 Meeting