Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The town should not court a takeover of its finances, the town council president said Tuesday after he spoke with Rhode Island Auditor General Ernest A. Almonte.

Council President Joseph Burchfield said Almonte told him he would not have any special advantages, such as an ability to open up contracts, if state officials take control of North Providence's finances.

In recent days, Burchfield and others, including Mayor Charles A. Lombardi, have wondered if a takeover might be the best way to cut spending that's protected by contracts and mandates in state law.

Local officials would prefer to cut certain types of public safety and education spending instead of line items for services such as the pool, senior center and library. They have been reluctant to cut such services -- and raise taxes by more than 23 percent -- to address a deficit that's projected at more than $10 million.

Last week, Burchfield canceled a Town Council budget workshop scheduled for tonight because he wanted more information about any potential benefits of a state takeover.

After talking to Almonte, he said he would reschedule the workshop and focus on spending cuts that would head off the need to increase the residential property tax rate by about $4 per $1,000 of assessed real estate value.

 Tags  Council President Joseph Burchfield

Comments

bigstick said:

Council President Burchfield and other town officials should have understood what a state takeover could or could not accomplish, especially this late in the game. Now that things have been made crystal clear, maybe the council president will consider cutting services such as the pool, senior center, library and others. These services don't affect public safety, and can easily be restored on a user fee basis. In difficult times, the budget shouldn't contain any sacred cows, especially when many taxpayers have to worry about putting food on their tables and paying their mortgages. The towns financial problems didn't just appear overnight, they've been building for over a decade of mismanagement, overspending, poorly prepared budgets and disregard for fiscal integrity.

Link | May 26, 2009 7:20 PM
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