Providence
The report on the Cicilline Adminstration’s fiscal inadequacies has dropped. The major findings, according to the ProJo: — “The Administration transferred funds from the Undesignated Surplus (Rainy-Day Fund) without approval of a majority vote of the City Council as required.” — “The Administration did not provide financial information on a timely basis to the independent…
In an op-ed in today’s Projo, First District Congressman David Cicilline defends his defense of his record as Mayor of Providence, as well as defending the record itself…Five days before my election to Congress, last November, I said that Providence was in “excellent financial condition.” Today, Mayor Angel Taveras faces a critical deficit, and people…
Not to belabor the conversation about high-priced union executives, but certain aspects highlighted in our comment section point directly toward one of Rhode Island’s major problems. As Marc mentioned, yesterday, the head of Local 1033 of the Laborers’ International Union, representing 900 municipal workers, Donald Iannazzi, makes $265,870. It’s worth pointing out that the city’s…
WPRI’s Ted Nesi has done some digging and found out more about the Tavares/1033 deal, particularly how much it has “saved”: The wages, benefits and other provisions outlined in Local 1033′s contract were projected to cost Providence’s city government about $60 million per year, adding up to $240 million over four years, according to calculations…
UPDATED: Here are the actual deals (2011-12; 2012-15). The below was originally posted based on info released at Mayor Taveras’ press conference as reported by the ProJo. (Thanks to commenter jparis for the heads-up). According to the report from ProJo, here’s the basic outline of the deal Providence Mayor Angel Taveras made with Local 1033:…
Fiscal sanity coming to Providence? (I only question because the devil is in the details, which will be forthcoming tomorrow.) Mayor Angel Taveras…said in a news release that [a new] agreement [with Local 1033] saves Providence “more than $26 million over four years, including almost $7 million in savings in the next 18 months.” It…
In predictable fashion, PolitiFarce has jumped into the matter of David Cicilline’s self-serving, gross misstatements about Providence’s financial condition by examining the former mayor’s statement about a minor, tangential matter. (With this approach to current events coverage, if a dragon were laying waste to a town, the news team would rush in and provide extensive…
Barbara Polichetti of the Projo is reporting that Moody’s has downgraded the City of Providence’s bond rating. Combined with the budget deficits projected for this year and next, this means that the City of Providence now meets the conditions for state intervention specified in the”fiscal stabilization law” passed last year, ranging from the creation of…
Justin’s post from yesterday mentioned that Providence Mayor Angel Tavares’ decision to send dismissal notices to all current Providence teachers relates directly to the cost of substitutes. According to data available from the Rhode Island Department of Education website, Mayor Tavares has picked a reasonable area for reform, as the per-pupil costs of substitute teachers…
Former Providence Mayor David Cicilline’s statements, made to both Scott MacKay of WRNI (1290AM) and Alisha Pina of the Projo, that his administration withdrew funds from the city’s “reserves” to address the city’s deteriorating fiscal situation is a reversal of the basic position he had previously presented to the public. Throughout the second half of…
