Adventures in Town Government
The Providence Journal editorial board highlights a piece of legislation that, while unlikely to become law, illustrates the potential consequences of consolidation for the sake of efficiency and ease: … Sen. John Tassoni (D.-Smithfield) — a member of the state’s AFL-CIO executive board, former business agent for the state’s largest public-employees union, AFSCME Council 94,…
RI Senate Minority Leader Dennis Algiere (R, Westerly) reminds me that I’m wary of consolidation, even when it’s meant to resolve the state’s pension crisis. The voices of National Education Association Rhode Island Executive Director Bob Walsh calling for reamortization of the pension system and union consultant Tom Sgouros urging Rhode Island to treat pensions…
Providence Journal reporter Mark Reynolds dipped into the pension situation in Johnston, on Sunday, focusing on this case: Fire Lt. William R. Jasparro was 41 when he ended his 20-year career as a Johnston firefighter in 1990. Jasparro’s retirement package paid him about $18,255 per year [with cost of living adjustments] — based on half…
Like the swapping of high-paying public jobs for the sons of union leaders, the fact that Cranston is currently paying $67,107-86,778 annual pensions to six former police chiefs feels emblematic of the state’s broader systemic corruption: In the past 20 years, Cranston has hired — and retired — six police chiefs. Most served three years…
Rhode Island Association of School Committees Executive Director Tim Duffy commented as follows to the post in which I suggested that pension problems are a self-inflicted wound among governments, especially local governments: The wound is not a locally self-inflicted one. School committees are not responsible for pension debt. We do not negotiate these benefits with…
One can’t call the vote “party line” because Rhode Island’s Pension Review Board is technically non-partisan, but as Marc observed on Wednesday, the vote to bring investment estimates closer to what the pension fund has actually been earning nearly fell along what might be called a “union picket line” vote. Basically, the question was about…
Among the oddities of local politics is the stuff that you have to care about and pay attention to. A number of years ago, Tiverton opted to build three new elementary schools. I wasn’t around for the debate, but at least a significant portion of the electorate believed that the old schools would be sold…
For this week’s Patch column, I took on Tiverton’s new Pay as You Throw (PAYT) garbage-bag fee: Granted, of all of the factors contributing to this increase, the proximate end of the landfill’s usable life is among the most legitimate. Town leaders have spent decades inadequately preparing for the day that the dump was full…
My Patch column, this week, notes that school administrators in Tiverton appear to analyze differences between their approach and that of one of the most successful districts in Rhode Island (neighboring town, Portsmouth) only to the degree that they can formulate excuses why their own students and community in general are to blame for the…
On Monday night, the Tiverton Town Council finally let the ax swing on a new trash collection system that will at least double the cost of curb-side pickup for residents. (The metaphor is meant to indicate an executioner, not a lumberjack.) The Tiverton Town Council approved a contract on Monday night to begin a trash…