Providence
More news today about Providence’s finances under Mayor David Cicilline: At the time, Mayor David N. Cicilline, who was a candidate for election to Congress, vehemently denied the finding. He insisted about $30 million remained in the accounts, and charged that Lombardi was playing politics. The audit, by Braver Accountants and Advisers, of Providence, said…
You know, this sort of talk can only expand the sense of unreality between unions and the general public: “Something is insane in Providence,” [American Federation of Teachers President Randi] Weingarten said, standing on the steps of City Hall. “On a week where teachers and students were taking a well-deserved break, a secret plan was…
Ian Donnis has the list of Providence Mayor Taveras’ proposed cuts to deal with the budget deficit. * Effective immediately, the Mayor is taking a 10% pay cut. * The Mayor will submit a FY12 budget that cuts the Mayor’s office payroll by 10%. * Effective immediately, 13 non-union positions, including several school administration positions,…
Ted Nesi notes the similarity between the Central Falls and Providence deficits: [Central Falls’] budget shortfall was also pegged at about 17% when it filed for receivership during its 2009-10 fiscal year. But because of its small size, the actual amount of Central Falls’ deficit was only $3 million – a rounding error compared with…
Everything was so rosy in Providence under former Mayor David Cicilline. Remember? Now we know why. Cicilline’s adminstration basically slapped an new coat of paint on a rickety jalopy and called it “new.” Earlier this month, we learned that then-Mayor Cicilline’s administration paid for the paint by drawing down on the rainy day funds, underfunding…
A bevy of education-related stories today. The repercussions following the Providence teacher “firings” continue, with Mayor Tavares getting attention from the New York Times. The ProJo reported that teachers fear it’s the end for seniority-based retention, which is kind of a strange way to put it because, as the story also explains, that end was…
It’s been explained again and again that the pink slips are a technical response to fiscal realities. Nonetheless, that hasn’t stopped the hyperbolic rhetoric from continuing to flow from Providence teacher union leadership once the pink slips were issued. (I guess once we heard the Pearl Harbor reference, we shouldn’t have been surprised). To act…
The ProJo has more on the Providence School district sending pink slips to all teachers. Basically, it was Mayor Angel Taveras’ call based on economic reality and trying to have as much flexibility as possible. The mayor said the unprecedented move was necessary because of the depth of the financial crisis facing the city and…
Julia Steiny reminded us that it was the time of year when pink slips would rain down. Boy, did they ever in Providence where every teacher is slated to be “laid off”. Well, not really–not all of the teachers will be fired. It’s just a way for the Providence school district to enable the greatest…
Following up: So what are some of the firefighter disability rates across the country? Well, the Boston FD rate of 74% between 2005-07 is known around here. Similarly, New York City had a disability rate of 72% between 2004-2009 (62% rate in 2000, pre-9/11~and the NYPD was at 19%) while Chicago FD was at 25%.…