Mayor Angel Taveras painted a bleak picture Thursday of the city's
finances, saying Providence faces "devastation" and could go bankrupt if
retiree benefits aren't cut and tax-exempt institutions like Brown
University don't pay more in lieu of taxes.
Taveras said he cut a projected $110 million deficit for the current
fiscal year to less than $30 million but that the city is on track to
run out of money by June. He said taxpayers and city workers have
already sacrificed ? taxes and fees have gone up, several schools were
closed and there are 200 fewer people on the city's payroll compared to a
year ago ? and he called on retirees and nonprofit hospitals and
universities to do the same.
"Everyone must sacrifice or everyone will suffer the consequences," he
said at a news conference at City Hall. "We need everyone to be part of
the solution."
He said the city can't afford retirees' guaranteed annual cost-of-living
increases ? about 600 retirees get increases of 5 and 6 percent ? and
that benefits will be cut one way or another, either voluntarily or
possibly through court action. He suggested the city could go the way of
Central Falls, which was taken over by a state-appointed receiver in
2010 and where pensioners' benefits were unilaterally slashed. The
receiver declared bankruptcy on behalf of the city in August.
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