Top 11 of 2011: Crunch Time
Thursday, December 29, 2011
It was the unsexiest topic ever, but it grabbed everyone's attention for almost all of 2011.
Whether you got one yourself or paid for them as a taxpayer, you had a stake in state and municipal pensions that dominated Rhode Island's year as reporters revealed longstanding abuses and the state's new General Treasurer conducted a campaign of reform.
With budgets at the state level reaching red-line crisis proportions, it behooved Treasurer Raimondo and Governor Chafee to face heretofore unchecked increases, and by fall, most Rhode Islanders knew what a COLA was. Navigating the most turbulent political waters, Raimondo demonstrated the determination and vision that is rare on the RI scene, and few could believe that in mid-November, the General Assembly passed sweeping reforms that will cut retirees' pension benefits in a place no one ever thought that would happen.
Although Raimondo's reforms left difficult municipal negotiations still in the hands of mayors, and although it will be challenged in court in the coming year, the achievement may help Rhode Island regain lost ground in the business community.
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