Ailing cities eye saving through shared services

Pawtucket, Central Falls and East Providence are preparing to go into unchartered territory by joining a task force to study sharing municipal services.
The task force was created by executive order on June 28, when Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee named John Simmons, executive director of the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, as its chairman. Simmons’ experiences include chief of administration for Providence, Boston’s chief financial officer and deputy general treasurer for Rhode Island.
Hopes are so high for the panel’s success that its mere presence is already seen as an improvement. Three weeks after its formation, Moody’s Investors Service, a provider of credit ratings, gave the move a positive review, calling it a “credit positive for these financially challenged cities because it will likely lead to operating efficiencies and save operating costs.”
The Governor’s Task Force on Shared Municipal Services, as it had been named, was requested by Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien, who since taking office in January 2010 has been looking for a means by which the city could share some of its services.
The task force, which has not yet set a schedule to begin meeting, is expected to pioneer ways for municipalities to help become more efficient and cost-effective. It will suggest recommendations for the three municipalities.
The group will begin with public works but will also investigate other appropriate areas of municipal government for shared-services potential. Moody’s noted the practice is common in many states and often includes refuse collection; 911 emergency dispatch; snow removal; vocational and technical education; and water and sewer service. “Shared services in public works is on the top of the [priority list] but the potential is there for other things,” said Douglas Hadden, director of constituent services and communications for Grebien. “We started to take a look at it last year with things like zoning and building-code enforcement but the bankruptcy issue in Central Falls became too overwhelming.”
One hurdle that could pose a challenge is the matter of resolving the differences between different union contracts in each municipality. It’s one of the several problems discussed in the May 2010 final report of the Senate Commission on Shared Municipal Services, which has so far provided the framework for the task force’s work. Other impediments include resistance to change, the fear of losing control and a not-in-my-backyard attitude.
But never before have the conditions been better for building momentum for shared services. Central Falls declared bankruptcy in August 2011 and has been controlled by a state-appointed receiver. The city is not expected to get back on its financial feet until October, at the earliest. The state-appointed receiver in Central Falls is John McJennett III, who was appointed on June 1, replacing Robert Flanders. Chief of Staff Gayle Corrigan said the city is looking forward to some extra savings. “Our five-year, fiscal-recovery plan was filed [in U.S. Bankruptcy Court] on June 4. Any sort of shared-service savings are not in the projections but we disclosed we might realize a savings, particularly in the area of public works,” she said.
According to Corrigan, the bankruptcy court hearing will take place in September and the city could be out of receivership by January 2013. In East Providence, Diane L. Brennan was named as the new president of the state-appointed budget commission, replacing Michael O’Keefe. The city has been under the supervision of the state since January.
Pawtucket has a recent history of fiscal woes but has managed the situation well enough to avoid state supervision.
“Shared services are something my administration has focused on since taking office as part of our business-model approach to government. I am confident Pawtucket can provide municipal services in well-defined areas by working with other communities for the benefit of all involved, especially the taxpayers,” said Grebien.
“We have been fortunate in Pawtucket, doing the right things not to merit state oversight,” Hadden added. “The oversight has probably helped stabilize the situation in East Providence and Central Falls. The dust has settled a little and now we are ready for a task force to see what would be the fruitful areas to start saving. It’s an idea whose time has come.”
The panel will also include state Director of Revenue Rosemary Booth Gallogly; Grebien; East Providence City Manager, Peter Graczykowski; McJennett, or their designees.
In addition to sharing services, Pawtucket and the Pawtucket Water Supply Board will explore the potential for regionalizing the water system beyond its current service area of Pawtucket, Central Falls and the Valley Falls section of Cumberland. PWSB also has piping connections with Cumberland, East Providence, Lincoln, North Providence, Providence and Attleboro. Water regionalization would maximize use of city resources and end needless duplication, providing a benefit to both taxpayers and water rate payers. •