Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

By Tracy Breton
Journal staff writer

PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri's plan to defer $10 million in settlement money the state has offered to the victims of The Station nightclub fire would only delay payment of the funds for a matter of months, the governor's press secretary said today.

Carcieri is planning to allocate payment of that money in the budget that begins on July 1, his spokeswoman Amy Kempe said today. Lawyers for the more than 300 victims of the catastrophic West Warwick fire -- which killed 100 people and injured more than 200 others -- had hoped the money would be divided among the plaintiffs by springtime. But Kempe said today the "the main part of the reasoning" behind Carcieri's proposal to delay the payments until the next fiscal year was based on the slow pace the case is taking in the U.S. District Court.

"It appeared that details and finalizing the settlement were moving very slow and are still being worked out. It is our intent to put it in next year's budget," Kempe said.

Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch's office, which has represented the state in the civil suits brought by the fire victims, said it was not consulted about delaying the payment.

"The governor's office called us Wednesday afternoon to let us know about it, but we hadn't been involved in any discussions with him about the timing or method of payment," Lynch spokesman Michael Healey said. "As the state's lawyers, we advised the governor and the legislature to settle because we think settling is in Rhode island's best interests, but we are not part of the appropriations process.

"Ultimately, by law, the legislature must approve the $10 million. Also, in our many discussions with counsel throughout the various stages of this litigation, we've never committed to a specific payment timetable or method of appropriation because doing so would clearly have been beyond our authority," Healey said.

Extra: Read the Journal's continuing coverage of the Station nightclub fire.

 Tags  budget Governor Carcieri settlement Station fire West Warwick

Comments

MN said:

Why not work out a deal with Twin River to get a tax break that they desperately need in exchange give the state $10 Million in revenues so that the State can pay the victims of the Station Fire?

Link | January 9, 2009 1:31 PM
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