BREAKING: City Loses Out on $1.6 Million, Memo Reveals
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
Providence’s $22 million deficit may be on the rise after the capital city missed out on a $1.6 million federal reimbursement, according to a memo obtained by GoLocalProv.
The memo, which was sent by internal auditor Mathew Clarkin to members of the City Council and the city’s finance director, explains that the city was eligible for a reimbursement on early retiree healthcare expenditures through a $5 billion program created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Clarkin said the funds, which were included in the city’s fiscal year 2012 budget, are now at risk.
“It has been brought to my attention by the city's Manager of Employee Benefits that it is very unlikely that this $1.6 million reimbursement will be receive because the city's complete reimbursement application after the $5 billion in the ERRP program was exhausted,” the memo states.
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Providence is struggling to close a $22 million deficit in the current fiscal year. Mayor Angel Taveras has asked the city’s retirees to agree to millions of dollars in concessions and the nonprofit institutions to make $7.1 million in additional payments in lieu of taxes to help close the shortfall.
The Taveras administration refused to comment for this story.
