EP Budget Finalized

The budget for the Fiscal Year of 2019-2020 has been finalized for the City of East Providence.

Both myself and my fellow councilors came upon this budget season with a duty to the people we have the pleasure to serve. That duty was to create a budget that was well vetted to the best of our knowledge, including hearing from the taxpayers, our schools, businesses and resources throughout the City.

Perhaps our biggest moment was to keep our promise to our schools and kids and reallocate $950,000 that was previously withheld from our Mayor. As a council we voted by resolution, to dutifully restore this money. This budget is for maintenance and sustainability of the buildings our children spend over 30 hours learning, growing and becoming the future of our community.

Through the years of neglecting our schools, it was time to change the old way of thinking that they are secondary issues. Our kids, their safety and right to learn in a safe and healthy environment are important. They never should have been seen as secondary. We should not turn a blind eye to leaky roofs, the broken heating and cooling systems and undrinkable water stations. They are and will remain to be a top priority to myself and other members of this
Council. There is no greater return on investment.

There were indeed hard choices that had to be made in this process. Every department was affected. However, given the task to keep our tax increases low, while restoring the $950,000 and the inflated proposed budget presented by the Mayor, cuts were necessary.

As a Councilman, I realize there are many that are struggling financially in our City to provide for themselves. I could not, with good conscience, look at a budget that allowed thousands of dollars to be spent without full understanding of what it was being spent on, with many of my questions left unanswered. My promise is integrity, accountability and good stewardship of our tax dollars. There were many items presented on this budget that were simply unfounded and the burden would have fallen on the taxpayer.

I thank my fellow Councilors who, though at times we hold dissenting perspectives, allow for a sound, democratic process. I thank our Council President Britto for being an advocate of the public voice during our public hearing sessions and his overall leadership. I thank Councilman Cahoon for comprehensive research, aiding his own knowledge of government spending processes and dedication to our schools. I thank Councilwoman Sousa for her commitment to asking the hard questions and perseverance. I thank our Council Vice President Rodericks, who provides great insight and historical reference to help us remember where we’ve been and where we can aspire to be as a City. And last but not least, our Assistant Solicitor, Dylan Conley, who aided and guided us every step of the way.

We have a platform to go into for our new fiscal year. It will take teamwork, fiscal integrity and mindfulness in what we do as a Council and City. I look forward to working collaboratively with my colleagues on the Council, the Mayor and the School Department. Because together, we can do this.

Sincerely,
Councilman Ricardo Mourato
Ward 4 City Council