Providence Mayor Smiley Threatens Budget Cuts

The city is waiting on a Superior Court judgment that could require it to kick in additional millions in school funding

Mayor Brett Smiley warned the city could significant budget cuts if forced to pour millions into school funding.
Mayor Brett Smiley warned the city could significant budget cuts if forced to pour millions into school funding.
Nina Sparling / The Public’s Radio
1 min read
Share
Mayor Brett Smiley warned the city could significant budget cuts if forced to pour millions into school funding.
Mayor Brett Smiley warned the city could significant budget cuts if forced to pour millions into school funding.
Nina Sparling / The Public’s Radio
Providence Mayor Smiley Threatens Budget Cuts
Copy

Libraries. Parks. Summer programming for kids. The latest phase of the legal battle between city and state over funding the Providence School Department could mean significant reductions in these and other essential city services, Mayor Brett Smiley announced at a press conference on Tuesday.

“We’re going to have no choice but to have harmful, harmful cuts,” Smiley said. “(They) are going to impact the very same children and families that the school department says that they’re trying to help.”

City employees could face a furlough, Smiley said. New hires and discretionary spending are already on pause. Tax increases are on the table, Smiley warned.

This story was reported by The Public’s Radio. You can read the entire story here.

Planners and resilience experts say long-term erosion maps have been critical
After a 17-month hiatus, the Rhode Island Fishermen’s Advisory Board is repopulated and ready to review SouthCoast Wind underwater cables plan
A ruling from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals this week cleared the way for President Trump to re-fire federal employees who had been reinstated to their jobs last month by a lower court
As part of our Breaking Point: The Washington Bridge series, we’ve been asking for your questions. Now we’re answering them — starting with the most common one
Wading through local cranberry bogs, two researchers from the University of Rhode Island uncover rare pollinators—shedding light on climate change’s silent toll on bee populations
With a sharp linocut tool and a wit to match, his clever artwork will ease you into a Rhode Island state of mind