An economic impact study commissioned by Roger Williams University says the school contributed “at least” $200 million in spending, increased earnings and “social benefits” to Bristol and the wider region in the last fiscal year.
But the report, which counts everything from the 616 full-time jobs at Roger Williams to a purported reduction in alcoholism, smoking, incarceration, unemployment and welfare dependency due to the choices made by the school’s alumni, hasn’t gotten a very positive reception.
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“While I appreciate the time, effort and money that went into the study, I’m somewhat disappointed by the result,” said Town Administrator Diane C. Mederos.
“My hope was that it would also address what we do for the university,” she said, “but seeing that they commissioned the study, it was more about what the university does for Bristol. … and it’s tough to quantify some of the things they’ve mentioned, like reduced smoking.”
The report is a response to pressure from the town to start making payments in lieu of taxes, as Brown University, Johnson & Wales University, Rhode Island School of Design and Providence College do in the capital city. Bryant University is under pressure to do so in Smithfield.
“All the good things they do in the community are overshadowed by their intransigence,” said David E. Barboza, vice chairman of the Bristol Town Council, referring to the ongoing conflict with Roger Williams.
The town “is very aware and appreciative of the economic impact that the university brings to the town,” Barboza said. But “with the ever-increasing costs incurred to the town for the public safety services we provide, we are not asking the university to do something that other universities are not doing, by helping to defray those costs by payment in lieu of taxes.”
The town wants $150,000 a year – a “reasonable” amount, Barboza said.
But Roger Williams President Roy J. Nirschel expects the report to change the public perceptions. “I think intelligent, thoughtful people will look at this and say: ‘Wow, that’s a tremendous impact,’ ” he said. “But there will be some that say, ‘Don’t confuse me with the facts.’ ”
The study, which was done by Kevin Stokes of EconImpact in Louisville, found that in fiscal 2006, the university produced 10.1 percent of the town’s revenue – primarily in the form of property taxes paid by alumni, employees, students and businesses that serve Roger Williams; state school aid for those people’s children; sewer charges; and intergovernmental revenue.
Meanwhile, costs associated with Roger Williams – including public safety, public schools and various town services –accounted for only 8.3 percent of the town’s expenditures, the report says. That means that, in the end, Bristol came out ahead by $1,057,399.
Nirschel said this point cannot be denied. “Even the people that are critical do recognize that our impact on the town far outweighs our use of services.”
In the Greater Providence area, the study credits the university with $61.9 million in direct spending in fiscal 2006, $61.4 million in “secondary” business spending, $39.9 million in “increased alumni earnings” and $33.9 million in “social benefits” – not counting the $3.1 million in “direct benefits” to Bristol. All told, it estimates Roger Williams University was responsible for 0.42 percent of the region’s economic activity in 2005.
The calculation puts a dollar value on the volunteer hours donated by those affiliated with the university – $50,445 – and estimates that reduced smoking by the roughly 4,400 Roger Williams alumni in the region saves $1.9 million per year. Reduced alcoholism among those alumni is valued at $1.2 million, and reduced incarceration is valued at $4.6 million.
“Education pays – not just in better incomes but also in better lifestyles,” the report says. “Better living pays benefits to society. University graduates tend to possess greater self-esteem; live longer, healthier lives; assume greater civic responsibility; enjoy more aesthetic interests; attend more athletic event; exercise better moral judgment; and nurture children more effectively than those without university educations.”
Nirschel said the social impact estimate is an important part of the report.
“People with higher education tend to use social services less. They get arrested less and there’s less domestic abuse,” he said. “If you’re a law-abiding citizen, you’re not going to call the police as much or litter as much.”
Nirschel said he hopes that the study will help the university and the town to work together toward an effective solution. “We’re very, very generous here in Bristol. We want to find a thoughtful way to further invest in the city.”
Mederos also said she hopes the discussions will continue. “We need to co-exist, and we can do it much better than we do it now.”
But, according to Nirschel, the university will not give up its tax-exempt status.
“Their call for taxing Roger Williams is not going to stand the test of law,” he said, “and it’s an attack on the nonprofit sector on which this country is built.”
