Chafee: E. Providence likely to get next level of state oversight
December 19th, 2011 at 3:45 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
By Tim White
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Gov. Lincoln Chafee said Monday his administration is likely to appoint a budget commission shortly to oversee East Providence’s troubled finances.
The governor told WPRI 12 his administration is “very close” to making a decision about increasing its oversight of the city, which required the state’s backing last week in order to borrow $10 million from a major bank and avoid running out of cash. The city wants to borrow $20 million more next month.
“I think it’s a logical next progression to make better headway with our finances in East Providence,” Chafee said of a budget commission, adding that the question of whether to appoint one “is being discussed as we talk,” though there was “no definitive answer” as of early afternoon.
On Nov. 14, the Chafee administration named R.I. State Police Maj. Stephen Bannon as the city’s fiscal overseer, the least serious of three steps it can take to intervene in a city’s finances under the 2010 Fiscal Stability Act. The next step is a budget commission. The third step is a receiver, the role Robert Flanders holds in Central Falls.
More details from Chafee’s exclusive interview with WPRI 12 will air at 6 p.m. Monday.
• Related: Growing crisis in East Prov.; RI’s help required to borrow $10M (Dec. 16)
Ted Nesi contributed to this report.
Tags: central falls, chafee administration, east providence, fiscal stability act, municipal, rosemary booth gallogly, stephen bannon, tim white
Nesi's Notes covers politics and the economy in and around Rhode Island for WPRI.com. (Twitter: 
What gives the State the right to put all the taxpayers in Rhode Island on the hook for East Providence?
Ted, you left out step number 4 which is Chapter 9.
He is the governor…..he can do that. Just hope he doesn’t declare a state of emergency!!
At least he is getting East Providence out of the way first. There will be many more muncipalities heading towards this process next year – Mooday’s is not happy with the first three and many more will follow.
Good luck Linc
I will be glad when all these towns take Chapter 9 of the bankruptcy laws and all these rediculous public sector employee contracts are broken. The tax payers have been beaten up for too long. Now it is time for the public sector employees and the welfare cases to start losing what they think are entitled too.
ED,
You are right. R.I. has the 5th highest state and local tax burden in the country for the simple reason that all our K-12 teachers, firefighters, police officers (local and state), public works workers, state workers, school nurses, and god knows how many other government workers are members of one public employee union or another. And we the taxpayers just can not afford their automatic pay raises, longevity raises, uniform allowances, low or no cost health insurance and defined benefit pensions with one COLA after another. It is not that we want to “slam” these unionized public employees. We just want to pay average taxes, not the 5th highest in the country. If all these public sector employees don’t like it, then find a job in the public sector and see how you like it there.
exactly, concerned RIer!
The school teachers are the bane of RI. Both in E. Providence and Central Falls, there have been issues with the teachers pay–and now both cities are crumbling–all out of the teacher’s stubborness and greed.
They don’t care about the children’s taxpayers or the community. If fact, for 2012, the majority of the elderly activities may be wiped out at the EP Rec center.
You know what I say? Close all the public schools and open charter ones in all RI communities! Watch the film “Waiting for Superman”–And you’ll know why I feel this way!