PBN: What do you identify as the No. 1 priority for the next mayor of Providence?
TAVERAS: No. 1 is creating jobs in the city. Getting people back to work. But it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. There are a lot of different components to that and part of that is also education, because you need it for the work force, you need it to attract businesses into the city, you need it to develop the future leaders and the future business owners in Providence.
PBN: You’ve spoken in the past about bolstering city-backed financing options for businesses. Can you talk about how you would do that?
TAVERAS: We want to create a small-loan revolving fund that focuses on businesses in the city and helps them with loans and any other credit needs that they have to help them sustain themselves and to help them grow in our city.
We have the ability to that. Just recently there was $10 million that was made available to the Providence Economic Development Partnership and that would be part of what we would like to use to really get that off the ground and running as quickly as possible. Especially given the state of the credit markets today, I think it’s vital to helping small businesses survive and flourish.
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PBN: What do you mean by small business?
TAVERAS: We have more than 7,000 businesses in our city. Ninety-five percent of them have 25 employees or less. Twenty-five employees or less, which is hard to believe in many ways. When I say small I like to focus on them, but it’s not exclusive in that sense.
PBN: So this wouldn’t be a loan fund to help say a 38 Studios-type of business?
TAVERAS: No, it’s not something to help with 38 Studios, which I don’t think is a good deal for Rhode Island or for the citizens of Providence. It’d be great to be proven wrong but I don’t think it’s a good deal. [The fund I envision] is more focused on local businesses in the city that need help and finding a way to provide that help and make sure they grow.
PBN: Do you see other mechanisms to help the economy besides this loan fund?
TAVERAS: There are lots of different components to [my plan]. We want to have a tax-suspension program where when property is improved the taxes are suspended for a number of years to make that an incentive.
We think there needs to be shared services, the ability for shared services and that’s relating to a whole host of issues. That’s important to us as well.
We also want to streamline the process for permitting, licensing, opening up a business, for expanding your business and create one office of economic development that is focused on simply that.
PBN: Are you talking about separating the current economic-development office from the planning office?
TAVERAS: I am and I’m talking about working with the Providence Economic Development Partnership to make that part of the economic-development office as well. I think it’s important enough for us – especially given the state of our economy – to have one stand-alone office that’s focused on streamlining, making it easier to open, to expand your business.
PBN: The city envisions creating a Knowledge District filled with medical companies and institutions and anchored by the new Brown University Medical School. How do you view the idea of such a district and balance the needs of nonprofits that do not pay property taxes and the city’s budget?
TAVERAS: I think the Knowledge District is the future, the future of the economy of the city of Providence and the state of Rhode Island. It’s based on research, science and technology, and I think that the universities, hospitals and other nonprofits are critical to the emergence and development of the Knowledge District.
We have to find balance and recognize that there’s a codependency.
PBN: As mayor would you seek to renegotiate voluntary agreements the universities hold with the city under which the schools pay some money in lieu of taxes?
TAVERAS: I think it’s important to revisit our whole relationship, and PILOT is a huge part of that relationship. We have a basis in terms of a historical agreement that was reached several years ago by the mayor and the universities, and I think it provides a starting point for us.
PBN: What would you suggest to the universities?
TAVERAS: I think first we all need to recognize that conditions have changed for everyone, for the city, for the universities, for everyone. We need to have that common understanding that we are codependent and we need to help each other be successful.
PBN: What is your plan to tackle the budget?
TAVERAS: There will be many solutions to it. Small solutions that will add up and help us get on better and firmer financial footing.
First, and I said this when I opposed the tax increase, each and every department needs to reduce its budget. But it’s important to understand that when we talk about reducing budgets, so much of it is fixed costs so there’s really very little in terms of discretionary costs and expenses. But we should reduce all of our discretionary costs and expenses in each and every department. That’s the first thing.
The second thing is the PILOT and revisiting that relationship and finding ways to establish a more positive relationship and receive more support for the city. That’s important.
Third is bringing all of our unions to the table and having them be part of the solution. We cannot fix this problem without sitting down with all of our unions and recognizing that we need to reach an understanding about the financial condition of the city and what we can afford going forward.
That includes our pensions. I’ve already said I’m opposed to compounding [cost-of-living adjustments] and will not sign a contract with a compounded COLA. That’s part of what’s gotten us to where we are today. We need to stop it and stop it immediately. That’s one example of an issue, with respect to pensions that we have to deal with. …
Fourth, we need to look seriously at consolidating departments within the city. … Also, what can we do in terms of regionalization with our neighbors?
PBN: The present economy has not been kind to the city’s housing market. You saw the impact as a Housing Court judge. What was the impact and what as mayor would you do to help?
TAVERAS: Housing is critical not only to economic development, but to health, to education, to public safety and many people don’t look at it that way. I do. We’ve proposed a plan to address this issue.
For me, the priority is to make sure that we focus on the vacant and abandoned houses that we have in our city that total near 1,000. And I’m not talking about housing units, I’m talking about properties.
We should focus on making sure to rehab these properties and get them back to full use with families. What I’ve proposed is to take the properties and put them into receivership and put someone in charge of the properties to fix them and rehab them and sell them as affordable housing.
PBN: What about the homestead tax exemption that was eliminated for some landlords earlier this year?
TAVERAS: I think it’s making a very big difference right now for a lot of property owners and it’s going to be very difficult for renters as well. I opposed the elimination of it and I would try to restore it and to really take the steps that I outlined before in terms of addressing the fiscal situation of the city.
PBN: What would be your plans as mayor on the education front?
TAVERAS: The concern I have in terms of our schools is that we have too many children who aren’t doing math at grade level and aren’t doing reading at grade level and that must change. … For me, I’ve talked about wanting to create a children’s zone here that is focused on the whole family and it starts with early-childhood education, multiple options in terms of schools like the vocational and career and technical center. It starts with teachers and recruiting and training and supporting our teachers but also evaluating them fairly and consistently with parental [and] community involvement and that includes the business community. And having valuable after-school programs such as the Providence After School Alliance and also summer programs to maintain the involvement of kids in terms of education.
PBN: What would be the role of businesses in schools?
TAVERAS: I think it’s important we help establish partnerships with our businesses for our kids. I envision perhaps adopting a school where we have businesses who have adopted a school so throughout the school year they’re involved in what’s going on in the school.
I want to see children involved in businesses where they get a chance to see what a CEO does. And what does it mean to run a company and how many different people are involved in running a company? I envision radio stations being involved with our students who are interested in communications and being on the radio. Tying professionals to our students and our future professionals – that’s what I envision. •
