Providence City Council Aims to Prevent Future Budget Crises
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
“We want to understand how we got into this mess,” said Council President Michael Solomon. “What we’re looking to do—to achieve—is to come up with findings, recommendations, and implementations so that this doesn’t happen again.”
The council has directed Internal Auditor Matt Clarkin to work with Gary Sasse—the long-time head of the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council—to review the budget approval process and make recommendations on how to improve it.
Asked what responsibility the council bears for fiscal problems the city is facing, Solomon responded: “I think there were a lot of obstacles and you’ll find that as we move along there were a lot of obstacles preventing us from doing our job. So that will come out I’m sure when the final report is done.”
Council turns to Sasse for advice
The council has tapped Sasse to be its fiscal advisor in the process. In addition to three decades at the helm of RIPEC, Sasse is a former Director of the Rhode Island Department of Revenue as well as the Director the Department of Administration—and he helped steer the city through its last major fiscal crisis, during the early years of former Mayor Buddy Cianci.
Solomon has described Sasse as a “walking encyclopedia on fiscal matters.”
“I think Gary is a seasoned person in the area of finances,” Solomon told GoLocalProv. “He’s been in this situation before.”
Sasse has been hired through the Internal Auditor’s office and is receiving a consulting fee of $2,000 a month, according to Solomon.
The final report from Sasse and Clarkin will include recommendations on how to restructure the finance divisions in City Hall, develop an accounting procedure manual, follow quarterly reporting requirements, and increase the council’s involvement with the annual city audit.
Sasse and Clarkin met with the City Council last night to discuss their budget review process. Their final report is due in April.
Related Articles
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- Auditor: ‘There’s no question the city will run out of money’
- EXCLUSIVE: Audit Shows Providence Running Out of Money
- Providence Council Demands Special Audit
- Providence Fiscal Crisis: Audit Delayed
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Comments:
Edward Rivers
10:48am on Wednesday, March 16, 2011
In related news, Japan has begun stacking sandbags...
Gary Arnold
9:17pm on Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Why does this sound like the blind leading the blind?
The council has a job and has to deal with obsticles, why, they have the responsibility to remove obsticles, no excusses please.
Joseph Davis
11:18pm on Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Are you friggin kidding me? Bill Fisher must be working overtime to come up with this BS.
Michael, Michael, Michael, just before the election, the Internal Auditor told you what Cicilline did. What did YOU do with the information from YOUR internal auditor. You said HE was being political. YOU protected Cicilline. Now you have Bill Fisher trying to get you out of this.
Michael, you should not have conspired with Cicilline to cover up so he would win the election. Especially now, that you are trying to suck up to Taveras and make it look like you are a good government type.
Too little, too late.
fair play
9:29am on Thursday, March 17, 2011
The audacity of these council members to sit there and say they knew nothing about the finacial condition of the city. Why are they paying over $100 thousand a year for an internal auditor, where was he for the last 8 years. Why do we pay an internal auditor now and have to hire someone else to do his job. Where was the chairman of the finance committee all these years?