This is a very busy and hugely important year for our city. First and foremost is the once in a decade review of the Providence City Charter and an opportunity to change it. Then there is the once-every-10-years alteration of Ward boundaries based upon results of the 2020 census.
In addition, the Mayor has submitted to the City Council an Ordinance proposing to spend the remaining $124 million in American Rescue Plan funds. And last but not least is the proposed issuance of a $515 million pension obligation bond to deal with the city's very large gap in pension funding.
A. Charter. The city charter is being reviewed by the Providence Charter Commission. There is a Charter Commission website that shows a schedule of weekly meetings being held to address each Article of the charter in order, a few Articles at each meeting. There is also an email address: citycharter [at] providenceri.gov - to send your comments/ questions. In March, there will be weekly community sessions on different issues that may be addressed by amending the Charter. If changes are proposed, the voters will be asked in November to approve or disapprove them.
B. Ward Boundaries. The proposed changes in Providence's ward boundaries will be based on census data showing population shifts during the past 10 years. The City Council Committee on Ward Boundaries has a website . There is additional information and maps re the redistributing process . The Committee is chaired by Jessica Cigna, who has been speaking by invitation to various groups about the process used to set the new boundaries, including one held last month for the Providence LWV at Rochambeau Library. You can email her for more information at wardboundaries [at] providenceri.gov. She is also asking residents to identify areas that are "communities of interest" that you believe should not be split up among wards. There are videos on the website of presentations made at public meetings held to date in the past 2 months, as well as a schedule of ones to be held in the coming weeks.
C. ARPA. The Ordinance submitted by the Mayor to the City Council and currently being reviewed by the Council Finance Committee proposes spending ARPA funds in 6 categories: 1. Arts, Tourism and Hospitality; 2. Business and Economic Development; 3. Sustainability; 4. Housing and Homelessness; 5. Youth and Community; 6. Revenue Recovery. For details. The Finance Committee has held meetings during February and will hold meetings in March to hear presentations by city departments that will oversee the budgeted amounts. Go to the Providence Open Meetings Portal and select Finance Committee to register for notices of future meetings. You can also watch the past meetings which are streamed on YouTube, if you search: Providence 2022 Finance Committee ARPA or the City Council YouTube channel. The Finance Committee may recommend changes to the Ordinance. Once approved by the Finance Committee, the Ordinance goes to the full Council for review and passage (twice, at separate meetings). The Mayor then signs or vetoes.
D. Pension obligations to city employees. You can see the Pension Working Group report, issued on January 31, on the city's website. The Mayor proposed to the City Council that bonds be issued in the amount of $515 million for use to reduce the outstanding pension liability that threatens the solvency of the city. The City Council has agreed and has recently approved a resolution for submission to the RI General Assembly, requesting passage of legislation to permit the city to issue the bonds. This may also require a voter referendum.
Susann Mark, LWV Providence Observer Corps
