Taveras: without sacrifice, Providence will face bankruptcy
Providence Mayor Angel Taveras this morning warned that Rhode Island’s largest city will face bankruptcy unless public-safety retirees and tax-exempt hospitals and universities pitch in to help.
Quick highlights:
– Taveras says the city is pursuing an expedited state Supreme Court review of Super Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter’s decision barring the city from moving public-safety retirees into Medicare.
– Taveras was joined by House Speaker Gordon Fox, who said he’ll go to the wall to help Providence avoid going into bankruptcy. Fox said this could include passing legislation requiring contributions to the city by tax-exempt institutions.
– Taveras announced plans for an early March “Town Hall” with retirees at the Rhode Island Convention Center. It will also be carried online for retirees who can’t make it to the event.
– Taveras says the city is due to run out of money in June, and a decision will be made by then about whether to seek a supplemental tax increase. He called that a last resort and said he doesn’t want to solve Providence’s budget problems with a temporary fix.
I’ll post further details a bit later.
There are several steps yet to go before Providence can throw up their hands & even try to declare bankruptcy. This kind of rhetoric is just political posturing.