Providence still dynamic in face of poor economy

As I write this note, Mayor David N. Cicilline has released his updated fiscal 2010 budget for Providence, and it is not a pretty sight.
The document calls for a 2.26 percent increase in property taxes, as well as $25 million in spending cuts, as the mayor trims the city’s outlays by 4 percent from the just-concluded fiscal year.
It would be easy for the city’s elected and nonelected leaders to give in to despair and negativism and retreat into a shell. But as this 2009 City of Providence special section makes clear, despite the challenges, the city is not standing still.
From projects to more tightly integrate the arts and business communities, to a clear-thinking superintendent of schools (who just celebrated his one-year anniversary on the job), to a civic-pride-oriented downtown restaurant community to the continuing progress of the Iway project, Providence is a place where good things are happening.
Those bright spots actually should help the city deal with its challenges, of which there are many, showing that when all stakeholders have a common goal and put forth a concerted effort, change is possible.
Thus, there is no question that the city and its firefighters and police unions must reach a new contract and put the acrimony behind them. The city and its vibrant nonprofit entities need to recognize the unique nature of their medical, educational and spiritual contributions to the city as well as their outsized impact on the municipality’s fiscal health and come to a more mutually beneficial relationship – the region’s economy depends on it. And the city, in concert with the state, must continue to improve its transportation infrastructure so that all segments of Rhode Island can share in the region’s economic successes.