Friday, March 30, 2012
Members touched upon a wide array of topics ranging from Department of Public Works budget organization to non-profit tax exempt status.
This year's fiscal budget is balanced due to a surplus in city revenue. All of the city's payables, outstanding bills, are anticipated to be paid by summer. A lender is still needed to fund schoolwide renovations, said Commission Chairman Michael O'Keefe. Residents will get to review the impending water rate increase at a future city council meeting. The finance department will be able to assess the revenues generated from motor vehicle and tangibles taxes in the upcoming weeks. United Methodist Elder Care was granted tax exempt status throughout the state. Budget commission members do not support the resolution that was passed by city council members in a 4-1 vote, noting the city cannot afford to give non-profits tax breaks. Parks and …
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East Providence City Hall
145 Taunton Ave, East Providence, RI
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Friday, March 23, 2012
Most of the city's debt is caused by unfunded pension and benefit liability; commission members are hopeful negotiations will yield some relief.
To reduce East Providence's reoccuring deficit, pension and Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) liability must be aggressively funded, said Michael O'Keefe, budget commission chairman at Thursday's meeting. According to Joseph Whelan, a partner with Whelan & Sicket, LLP, who specializes in employment litigation and labor law, union negotiations will take place in spring or late summer. He is hopeful some middle ground will be reached between city and union representation once East Providence's financial situation is made clear to the parties involved. Those negotiations will be important to structuring the budget commission's five-year financial plan. One of the biggest issues, Whelan said, will be to incite retirees, no longer …
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East Providence City Hall
145 Taunton Ave, East Providence, RI
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Thursday, February 2, 2012
Budget Commission members are examining city payments made to volunteers.
Editor's note: In an original document presented to the budget commission weeks ago, the city's human resources department originally reported that the city paid $56,801 in total toward council members' medical and dental benefits. According to documents provided by Mary Scanlon, director of human resources, $48,933 is the total cost paid in net medical benefits; $3,834 is paid to for dental benefits. A corrected version of the benefits was be presented to the budget commission at Tuesday's meeting. Monetary benefits paid to East Providence board members are being examined with a critical eye. According to documents acquired by the budget commission, East Providence pays a total of $144,179 annually toward board members' stipends, and in …
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
East Providence will have access to a line credit totaling $15 million from Citizens Bank to act as a financial safety net.
East Providence will have enough cash to get through April. The state-appointed budget commission decided to utilize a line of credit totaling $15 million from Citizens Bank to act as a financial safety net. If administrators don't need to borrow, the city is charged $1,000 a month for the option. "It's a good thing to have," said Chairman Michael O'Keefe, during a Tuesday afternoon meeting held at city hall. It's anticipated Finance Director Ellen Eggeman will be able to hold off paying a small list of vendors about $5 million until tax bills are collected in the summer. If residents decide to pay their taxes in full, they will receive a two percent discount; members previously discussed giving a three percent discount if residents paid …
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East Providence City Hall
145 Taunton Ave, East Providence, RI
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Friday, January 27, 2012
School department administrators are concerned plans to renovate the school over the summer will be scrapped if the city doesn't secure bond money soon.
Renovations planned for East Providence High School may not come to fruition by summertime. School department officials were advised to hold off paying Farrar & Associates about $800,000 to design plans to renovate and remove asbestos from the East Providence High School during a Thursday budget commission meeting. Chairman Michael O'Keefe was concerned lenders would be reluctant to float a $9 million bond needed to fund the project. Finance Director Mary King said the firm needed to start work within the next weeks in order to complete it over the summer, before school starts in the fall. City administrators discussed funding the plans to ensure work stayed on schedule and the construction firm doesn't back out of the project. "We don't …
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East Providence City Hall
145 Taunton Ave, East Providence, RI
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Interim Superintendent Edward Daft will remain in his role until January.
East Providence school committee members voted to indefinitely suspend the search for a permanent superintendent during Tuesday night's meeting at city hall. According to Chairman Charles Tsonos, budget commission members strongly recommended that the school department hold off on hiring staff due to a $7.4 million projected deficit. "[The commission] discouraged us from pursuing a superintendent search for several reasons, much of which has to do with the financial situation of the city," he said. Interim Superintendent Edward Daft will remain in his role until January. "It's good to see you Mr. Daft. Take your vitamins," Tsonos said. According to Daft, the understaffed department works well together though he would like some extra …
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East Providence City Hall
145 Taunton Ave, East Providence, RI
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
A bill that authorizes an advancement in state education aid is beneficial for distressed Rhode Island municipalities, according to a Moody's Investment Services report.
Recent legislation that gave East Providence a $12.6 million advance in state aid is considered a positive move for the city's financial future, according to Moody's Weekly Credit Outlook report dated Jan. 23. "The advance is credit positive for East Providence because it will reduce dependence on interim cash flow borrowing, which has added additional costs and risks to the city’s strained finances," reads the report. "The law is also credit positive for Rhode Island local governments in general, as it creates a new mechanism for the state to provide relief to severely distressed local governments." According to the report, in November 2011, the start of its fiscal year, East Providence management estimated that it would need …
Friday, January 20, 2012
The city is paying about $6.1 million a year to fund the pension plan's annual required contribution (ARC).
To boost the city's bond rating, R.I. Director of Revenue Rosemary Booth Gallogly recommended East Providence start aggressively funding both pension and Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) liability at Thursday's budget commission meeting. East Providence is paying about $6.1 million a year to fund the pension liability's annual required contribution (ARC). The school department pays about $3.4 million a year; the city side pays about $2.7 million. To avoid deficits in the future, members urged city administrators to start paying more than the minimum ARC. "It's going to more than what you're paying now," said Michael O'Keefe, chairman of the commission. Only a handful of communities are making strides to fund Other Post Employment …
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East Providence City Hall
145 Taunton Ave, East Providence, RI
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012
The tax assessor found 37 East Providence properties registered as tax exempt are "fully or partially taxable."
City administrators found another source of untapped funds. At Tuesday's council meeting, City Manager Peter Graczykowski reported Tax Assessor Steven Hazard found 37 East Providence properties registered as tax exempt are "fully or partially taxable." He estimates the city is owed $694,000 from those properties. According to the city manager, 336 properties were registered as tax exempt; about 280 were confirmed as exempt and 56 were considered questionable. According to Steve Hazard, tax assessor for the city, many of the properties have claimed exemption since the '60s, including schools and churches. Those organizations are exempt if they are situated on less than five acres of land. But if more than five acres is aquired, the city is …
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East Providence City Hall
145 Taunton Ave, East Providence, RI
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
Due to the recent bond rating downgrade, the city is projected to run out of cash by the end of January.
East Providence will be broke by the end of January if financial operations stay the current course. To ensure East Providence remains financially afloat, members of the state appointed budget commission brainstormed ways to reduce future debt during a Thursday morning meeting. The task grows increasingly daunting. According to Finance Director Ellen Eggeman, the city will run out of cash by the last week in January. City Manager Peter Graczykowski said the recent bond rating downgrade only allowed the city to secure $10 million TANs (Tax Anticipation Notes), leaving the budget with an anticipated shortfall. According to Eggeman, the city has routinely borrowed TANs for over 25 years as the fiscal year is not aligned with most state …
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East Providence City Hall
145 Taunton Ave, East Providence, RI
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Rumford Resident
5:58 am on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Folks like 'just the facts' surround themselves with folks like Ruggierio and Ciccone. who are the real supports of the unions. Folks like Ruggierio and Ciccone who when pulled over for drunk driving in Barrington Ciccone says to the officer.... “You think you got pension problems now, wait ‘til this (expletive deleted) is all done. This guy voted against you last time, it ain’t gonna get any … more ›