Roach: While Prov Fiscally Flounders, Cranston has No Tax Increase
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
Coming off a downcast mood last week as the RI Republican party fumbled it’s party chair electoral process, we received a bit of good news out of the Republican camp on Monday. Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, unveiled his fiscal 2014 budget and for the second year in a row it does not contain any tax increases for taxpayers.
Last April, I wrote:
However, while [Fung] was making [snip] tough choices mayors like Cicilline were pilfering rainy day funds and not creating or even making half-hearted attempts to create sustainable fiscal infrastructures for their communities. That’s why Providence faces bankruptcy while Cranston does not.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAs I’ve cataloged over the years, since Fung has entered office in 2009 he has done a remarkable job of making difficult decisions that in the short run were hurtful to taxpayers’ pockets, but in the long run were beneficial to the city.
In Providence, this wasn’t happening. What scares about this is that Rhode Islanders elected the former mayor of Providence to a second term in Congress despite the fact that he nearly brought the city to financial ruin. I get concerned that if Fung has aspirations for higher office will his fiscal responsibility be an albatross instead of a shining standard that it should be? I’m only half-joking here because Rhode Island voters often perplex me in their voting selections – to put it kindly.
Contrast this with what Fung told the city, Monday:
Last year in my budget address, I told you that the City of Cranston was stable. This year, I am pleased to stand here with more positive news. The City of Cranston is not only stable from the initiatives that we have put into place these past four years, but now we are experiencing real growth!
Hear that Rhode Island, at least one city is not only stable but “experiencing real growth”. Providence Mayor Angel Taveras is also trying to right the ship, but his counterpart in Cranston is already getting it done.
What’s more Taveras and other cities and towns looking to recover are using Republican conservative ideas to get their economies in shape. Mayor Taveras, for example, hinted at freezing commercial property tax rates in Providence in order to “send a message that Providence is serious about attracting new business.”
Providence still has a budget gap to fill and we won’t know all of the details of Taveras’ budget until later this month. Still, Cranston & Providence are a contrast. One city has moved from stability to growth whereas the other just avoided catastrophe. In 2014, should Fung make the choice to go for statewide office, I hope Rhode Island voters remember which town and which mayor spent his time being out in front of the fiscal crisis leading his taxpayers and city towards growth.
Don Roach is a young Republican. Don can be reached at [email protected].
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