For a political newcomer, Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey has demonstrated a real knack for getting attention. Just a few months into his first term, he made a highly publicized move to fire city crossing guards. In his opinion, their short hours and generous benefit packages represented a bad deal for taxpayers.
Laffey also broke out a secret videotape, catching one city worker napping and others showing up late for their assignments.
Those efforts on the part of the new mayor certainly made for an entertaining joust between him and union officials. We admire his willingness to put up a fight for taxpayers.
But it would be a mistake to allow Mayor Laffey’s public displays to overshadow the very important work that is being accomplished with regard to Cranston’s finances.
When he took office in January, Cranston’s finances were a mess. Now, 11 months later, they at least appear to be on the road to recovery.
Last week, Fitch Ratings, which has held Cranston on its “negative watch” for the past year, is now giving the city a positive rating outlook. And while that does not mean that Cranston will immediately shed the embarrassing BB- rating it currently holds, it does mean that there is “likely to be upward movement in the rating” within the next one to three years.
As a candidate, Laffey campaigned on a platform of fiscal integrity and pointed to his experience on Wall Street as a key factor in preparing him to attack Cranston’s fiscal mess. Since taking office, he and his staff have tirelessly worked on the city’s books – and made sure the credit agencies were aware of the progress being made.
Credit ratings are critical to cities and towns. A better credit rating means a more acceptable interest rate when it comes to borrowing money, securing bonds.
That means major infrastructure projects are more likely to get done. It’s how new schools get built. It’s how new fire trucks are purchased. Simply put, it’s how taxpayers get a real return on investment.
We applaud Mayor Laffey’s efforts to date and encourage him and his staff to continue an aggressive approach to restoring Cranston’s finances.
