Decisions, decisions.
John C. Simmons, executive director of the business-backed Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, says 2010 is the year that state and local leaders must make some drastic decisions on the future shape of their respective governments.
They should be deciding which municipal services will be shared among municipalities, and which ones won’t be offered at all.
Also, local pensions, health care coverage, staffing and collective bargaining agreements will be “under renewed scrutiny,” Simmons said.
Yes, state and local leaders have been talking about moves such as consolidating and regionalizing local services for years now, and little has materialized. But Simmons says they don’t have a choice this time.
“It’ll be the first time they’ve really faced it without a whole lot of alternatives,” Simmons said.
Indeed, state government is running a projected $218 million deficit, and Gov. Donald L. Carcieri has already proposed deeply cutting aid to cities and towns. A key component of Carcieri’s plan to fill the budget gap: Withholding $65.1 million in the third- and fourth-quarter vehicle excise-taxes from municipalities.
What about tax increases? “I’m not sure [tax hikes are] a foregone conclusion,” Simmons said.
That is, in part, because the budget discussions for both this fiscal year and next will take place during an election year, making state leaders less inclined to raise taxes, he says.
“This is the year to see whether there will be a collective leadership that will step up,” Simmons said. •
