It’s election season in Providence once again. Less than a year from now, we will have a new mayor, and here are the most important priorities I believe he should have.
• Regionalize. Perhaps it takes a Great Recession for America’s smallest state to realize that it does not need 39 cities and towns. The next mayor of Providence should be the last mayor of Providence, that is, the 18-square-mile city we’ve known for 100 years. Providence and its neighboring communities need to tear down the walls that divide us, and create a unified city on a metropolitan scale. It will truly be a great city, and I feel it will operate more efficiently.
• Don’t raise taxes. The unemployment rate in Providence is more than 14 percent; 11,250 residents are unemployed. In the face of this hardship, the city government absolutely must not raise taxes. Our foremost priority must be to operate with the resources that are currently available to us. Regionalizing services with surrounding cities and towns will help accomplish that goal.
• Invest in the neighborhoods. During the credit union crisis of the 1990s, when bank loans were scarce, Providence city government poured millions of dollars into its neighborhoods in the form of low-interest loans and grants for the purchase and renovation of housing. Using bond proceeds, Providence must come to the aid of its neighborhood residents once again. We cannot wait for the recession to ease; we must act now. Providence should create its own Providence Housing and Mortgage Corporation to help save the housing stock and to eliminate foreclosures.
• Persuade banks to lend. The Providence city government is a major customer of Rhode Island banks, with millions in deposits, borrowings and investments. The next mayor should use this leverage to persuade financial institutions to open their loan windows once again. The faster that loan funds are put to work, especially in the small-business sector, the faster the recession will come to an end and people will be put back to work.
• Let colleges and hospitals build. The city economy is increasingly dominated by tax-exempt colleges and hospitals, which employ 20,000 in Providence and continue to invest in their physical plants despite the recession. For this reason, the city government should give full opportunity to Brown University, Johnson & Wales University, Rhode Island School of Design, Rhode Island Hospital, The Miriam Hospital, Women & Infants Hospital and other tax-exempt institutions to expand. This includes the prime downtown land that is becoming available as Interstate 195 is relocated.
• City should benefit from tax-exempts. As tax-exempt institutions continue to expand, the city government must have alternative sources of revenue in order to provide vital services. I propose that, for all new jobs created by the colleges and hospitals in Providence after a fixed date, the state should share its income-tax revenue from the new jobs on a 50/50 basis with the city.
• Make Broad Street another Atwells Avenue. Broad Street is a major gateway into the city. It is also the center of a multihued ethnic neighborhood, with many residents from Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa. Just as Atwells Avenue is a festive center of Italian-American culture, and a major destination for shoppers and diners, so Broad Street can exemplify the best of the new cultures in the city.
• Reduce class size in our schools. Providence has up to 26 students per class. Yet many of our private schools have only 15 students per class – they believe it makes a difference. I believe that public school students will perform significantly better if class sizes shrink. I propose that we try out the smaller format in a model school for a period of four years. Let’s see if test scores rise significantly.
• Give Downcity a boost. The historic downtown has magnificent architecture, a large college presence, sleek office towers and imposing government buildings. But there are many vacancies in Downcity – approximately 1.5 million square feet – and there are no prospective takers at this point in time. In fact, the city needs to create a new partnership with state government in order to concentrate parts of state government downtown, instead of transferring that economic base up to Pontiac Avenue in Cranston.
In addition, the next mayor should give full encouragement to the colleges to locate additional dorms, classrooms and libraries downtown. Also, the 1 percent-for-the-arts statute should be enforced, and streets, parks and plazas should benefit from public sculpture, sidewalk musicians, flower displays, flags and banners, and other festive touches.
• Issue fewer parking tickets. Aggressive ticketing drives people and businesses out of downtown. Do issue tickets when people park in handicapped or loading zones, or during snow emergencies; don’t pepper the downtown with tickets primarily for the purpose of raising revenue.
• Improve city services. Our city services should be the best in the state. One sure way to do that is to pay city vendors on time – within 30 days, not five months. If snowplow vendors are paid promptly, if Providence is the best customer they have, then they will be enthusiastic about clearing city streets. In addition, we should make every police officer, firefighter and all city workers pothole reporters, so that craters can be quickly patched. I also believe we should fill the position of public-safety commissioner with a strong, experienced leader, so that residents have a civilian advocate. Recycling? We should increase our recycling rate, but not if it means garbage piling up on city streets.
Yes, it’s a lot of work. But the Providence Renaissance will continue, and the city will shine, if the next mayor is an adept multitasker and completes in four years’ time the punch-list of priorities I have identified. •
Joseph R. Paolino Jr. was mayor of Providence from 1984 to 1991, director of the R.I. Department of Economic Development from 1991 to 1994 and is currently a major owner of commercial properties in downtown Providence.
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