PROVIDENCE – John Simmons, chief of administration under Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, will be stepping down at the year’s end to become executive director of the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, the mayor’s office announced today.
Simmons will succeed Gary S. Sasse, who has led RIPEC since 1977, overseeing a wide range of research and policy analysis projects and advocating for fiscal responsibility.
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Simmons – a former chief financial officer for the City of Boston and, before that, chief operating officer for Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the Bay State’s largest employer association – has spearheaded major financial and labor-relations reforms for the City of Providence.
Under his leadership, the city closed a $60 million budget deficit; raised its bond ratings with all major ratings agencies to “A”; and negotiated contracts with five labor unions – starting with teachers – that, for the first time, included premium copayments by union employees. (In July, he spoke with Providence Business News about the city’s budget woes. READ MORE)
In a news release, Cicilline hailed Simmons as “one of the foremost authorities on public finance in the Northeast” and credited him with playing a major role in getting the city’s financial ship back on course.
“John has been an invaluable member of my team from the very beginning,” the mayor said. “His vast experience, financial expertise and keen understanding of the intricacies of public finance have helped put our city government on the strong financial footing needed to accomplish my ambitious goals for the city.”
Simmons is scheduled to leave his post at the end of December. Cicilline said he would begin the process of searching for a successor in the coming weeks.
“Serving Mayor Cicilline and the residents of this city during his successful effort to transform city government has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my professional career,” Simmons said in a statement. “Although I’m very excited about the new challenges ahead at RIPEC, I will always be proud to have been a part of this extraordinary team working on behalf of Providence taxpayers.”
The Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council is a business-backed think tank that conducts research and analyses of government spending in Rhode Island, and advocates for policy changes. For more information, go to www.ripec.org.
