Council Members Want Criminal Investigation into City Finances
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Two Providence City Council members are calling for a criminal investigation into the mismanagement of city finances under former Mayor David Cicilline.
Council members Miguel Luna and Sabina Matos will introduce a resolution at the city council meeting tonight authorizing the city to hire an attorney with a background in prosecution to review the transfers, withdrawals and spending of money in city reserve funds from 2003 to 2010.
Their resolution comes in the wake of a new report that blames Cicilline and his administration for “dysfunctional management” that severely worsened the impact of the recession and state aid cuts on city finances. But Luna said the situation was “definitely more than dysfunctional,” saying he wants to find out if there was any actual wrongdoing.
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When the report—which the council commissioned—was released yesterday, other members said they were focused on improving the budget process in the future. “Let’s focus on the future … but this needs to be investigated,” Luna countered.
Luna said Cicilline did not receive the proper authorization from the council to drawn down the reserve funds. “I think that as elected officials we should be held accountable and the truth is that Cicilline did not ask for authorization,” Luna said. “He violated the charter. He violated ordinances.”
If approved, the resolution allows the council to spend $5,000 on an attorney and sets a 60-day deadline for him to come back with his findings.
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