Mayor Cicilline hits a home run

Only time will tell if the deal Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline worked
out with the four private colleges in the capital city to make voluntary payments
in lieu of taxes will represent a true windfall for city coffers, or a more
modest contribution.




At first blush, the numbers sound good for the capital city.



Very good, in fact.



Approximately $3.8 million in fiscal year 2003 – nearly $50 million in voluntary payments over a 20-year period. Another element of the agreement calls for a voluntary-contribution schedule for any new properties that might be acquired by the colleges or universities in the future.



It appears to be just what the new mayor was seeking – financial help from some of the city’s most deep-pocketed residents. When you are looking at an estimated budget deficit of approximately $45 million in the next fiscal year alone, every dollar counts.



Now, the key for the capital city is to make sure that this money coming from the colleges and universities represents new money – that they not simply cut back on existing programs and ventures they already fund.



At a mid-day press conference in Cicilline’s office on Thursday, June 5, all parties were saying the right things.



“We feel that our respective institutions are an integral and vital part of Providence,” said Rhode Island School of Design President Roger Mandle. “But we also understand that the successful pursuit of our educational mission is greatly enhanced if the city of Providence remains a vibrant, flourishing community. Mayor Cicilline faces a daunting challenge in returning Providence to fiscal health and stability.”



Mandle made a point to say that the agreement between the city and the schools represents a beginning for new cooperative efforts, but does not preclude efforts that already exist.



“We provide teacher training, saving thousands of professional development dollars for the city’s schools each year,” he said. “We provide consulting services to various parts of both city government and the school system … We augment the city’s police force with our own campus security, adding coverage to the neighborhoods in which we live and work. And we award roughly $6 million a year in scholarships and financial assistance to Providence residents to attend our institutions.”



Brown University President Ruth Simmons and Providence College President the Rev. Philip A. Smith echoed Mandle’s comments.



Throughout the 40-minute press conference, Cicilline beamed. So did several Providence City Council members who attended – along with city staffers and a contingent of local business leaders.



Cicilline called it an “historic” day for the city – and it was.



It was something else, as well.



This was a political home run for the new mayor of Providence – and he knew it.



While Cicilline possesses none of the bravado of his predecessor – and he has an admirable penchant for recognizing the hard work of those around him – he is politically astute. And he was not about to let this moment pass without basking in the limelight.



“For the past five months, since the first days of my administration, I have been negotiating continuously with the leaders of the city’s four largest private colleges and universities … My goal in these sometimes-heated exchanges has been single-minded and clear: to secure substantial payments in lieu of taxes – or PILOT payments from these institutions,” he said. “It is my great pleasure to announce today that I have achieved this goal.”



For Cicilline, this was no small accomplishment in terms of delivering a political statement. By most accounts, the new mayor has had a productive five months in office. He has made significant personnel moves and most importantly, pulled a cover off of Providence’s truly ugly fiscal condition.



But fair or not, the Cicilline administration – at least in the minds of voters – will largely be judged by how many home runs are hit while he occupies that second floor office in City Hall.



GTECH building a headquarters downtown is a home run for a lot of folks, but especially for Cicilline. A shiny new office building downtown will go a long way to securing a second term for the mayor, if in fact he chooses to seek one.



Getting the tax-exempt private colleges to pony up significant dollars each year is another home run. The details are complicated, but at its core it is a story that is easy to digest. Wealthy colleges are convinced by an aggressive new mayor to help out a struggling city.



It didn’t happen during Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr.’s term or any mayor before him. It is a deal now permanently inscribed on Cicilline’s political resume.



“Few people expected any agreement – let alone this historic agreement,” said Cicilline. “After so many failed attempts, and with so many barriers in the way, some people thought we were attempting the impossible.”



The mayor has good reason to boast.



He just hit a home run.

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