WARWICK — Mayoral inaugurations were once glittering affairs in this city. Solemn swearing-in ceremonies were followed by tuxedos and ball gowns as thousands of people danced the night away at venues such as Rhodes on the Pawtuxet and the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

But a few years ago, as municipal budgets got tighter, the City Council cut the roughly $25,000 it cost to host such galas. And this year the austerity continues.

Mayor Scott Avedisian said the formal start of his sixth term in office will be marked by a low-key ceremony in the City Council chamber, where his oath taking was held two years ago. The inauguration is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 6.

Avedisian said that no money was requested for a splashier inauguration because “it just doesn’t make any sense to commit any city resources to a party at a time when we might be talking about hiring freezes or the possibility of layoffs.”

Council President Joseph J. Solomon shared that sentiment, saying, “This is the direction the city has been moving in and now, more so than even past years, you can’t be spending money on anything that isn’t absolutely necessary when people all over are getting hit so hard.”

“It’s a changing world, with no money for frills,” Solomon said.

Although the formal parties with music and dancing fell by the wayside a few years ago, some festivities continued with council members and the mayor using their own funds for private parties or joint celebrations. Even those will be scarcer and smaller this year, Avedisian said.

Although this year’s inauguration might seem austere compared to the past, Avedisian said it will be every bit as meaningful. The choir of the Buttonwoods Beach Chapel, a community-owned non-denominational church, will perform selections including “America the Beautiful.”

The Pawtuxet Rangers, a Colonial militia group, will march in with the Police and Fire departments’ color guards. As been his custom since he was first elected, Avedisian will be sworn in by his cousin, Family Court Judge Haiganush Bedrosian.

And when he takes the oath of office, his hand will be on the thick leather-bound Bible that has been in his family for years.

Avedisian will then swear in the City Council and the School Committee.

“It will still be a wonderful night,” he said.

bpoliche@projo.com