I am steadfastly opposed to the City’s recent tax hike.  As Mayor, I will veto any increase in the residential or commercial property tax rate that comes across my desk until we have exhausted every other option - zero-based budgeting, cuts of 10% and more in the discretionary spending of each City department, pension reform, labor givebacks, renegotiated PILOT agreements and more -  to save taxpayers money.

Restoring our City’s finances will require growing our tax-base and addressing the City’s structural budget deficit.  For too long, we have relied on short-term, one-time fixes that do little more than delay facing the tough choices our City has to make. 

As Mayor, I will make the bold changes necessary to put our City on sound long-term financial footing.

As Mayor, I will:

• Implement across the board reductions in every department by implementing zero-based budgeting and directing each department director to submit cuts in discretionary spending.

• Lead a coalition of Mayors and town managers to identify opportunities for regionalization and consolidation of services.

• Explore new sources of revenue by continuing to green city buildings, investing in recycling, utilizing the opportunity associated with the relocation of I-195 and analyzing all other nonperforming city assets.

• Bring union representatives to the table to negotiate concessions necessary to save money in City departments - including reform of our pension system.  We have an accrued liability of $1.2 billion.  We are 70% unfunded - one of the lowest funded pension plans in the entire country. We must rethink our retirement plan for future employees and find ways to reduce healthcare expenses for all retirees. City workers also need to make concessions on cost-driving expenses.
  

• Impose the same cuts on the Mayor’s office and my non-union personnel as I do on city workers.

• Reinstate five-year budget forecasting.

• Convene our city’s tax-exempt institutions - our hospitals, colleges, private secondary schools and others - to revisit the existing PILOT program to ensure that it is fair to local institutions and, most importantly, to Providence taxpayers.  Tax-exempt property owners contribute less than one percent of the City’s revenue, yet own nearly 40% of our property.  The 2003 agreement was a step in the right direction, but time and circumstances have changed and it is now imperative for us to forge a new path forward.