October News Briefs

Mayor DaSilva delivers FY 2025 Proposed Budget to City Council

“City finances remain stable & strong” - DaSilva
The City Council received the fiscal year 2025 budget proposal from Mayor Bob DaSilva last month.  DaSilva had to submit a last-minute amendment to his initial spending plan.  The Mayor told council members that after crafting the budget, he received new information from the school department which notified them that the state was allocating $1.4M less in state housing aid than originally anticipated.  This changed the expected state allocation from $8,736,954 to $7,371,909.  In a revised letter to the council, DaSilva outlined the spending package: “In accordance with Section 5-3 of the East Providence Home Rule Charter, I am pleased to present the City’s proposed fiscal year 2025 budget.  The proposed fiscal 2025 budget recommends General Fund expenditures of $195,004,158, a $3,986,891 increase (2.09 percent) over last year’s appropriation. Of the total General Fund expenditure increase, city operating expenditures increased by $1,454,967 (1.55 percent), funding of the school department rose by $2,531,924 (2.61 percent), $2.2M from additional city taxes plus $300K of other school revenue not previously budgeted,” wrote DaSilva.

The proposed total increases of $5.3 million are primarily related to the following:

• $1.8M increase in the Police and Fire pension per the City’s Actuary
• $2.5M increase for School Department
• $1.3M increase for municipal salary and contractual obligations
• Inflation/Increase of cost of goods and services
• Inflationary increases in Electricity, Heating, and Gas

The council was told that a driving factor of this budget increase is the city’s public safety pension contributions. “Our administration has committed to fully funding the Annual Required Contribution (ARC) in hopes of someday seeing our police and fire pensions fully funded and self-sustained,” said DaSilva.

DaSilva also outlined a commitment to education.  “During my tenure, the City of East Providence will have gone out to bond for approximately $339 million for a new high school, new middle school and major renovations to Waddington Elementary School. Additionally, the City of East Providence, from 2007 through 2012, has invested $24 million in infrastructure improvements to our public schools. This budget continues to support our public schools by increasing our share of funding to the School Department budget by an additional 4 percent.”

Further, DaSilva wrote: “This proposed budget was carefully crafted to ensure that the city is able to continue to provide the highest level of public safety, public works, social, recreational and educational services to our residents.”

This proposed budget seeks a 3.5 percent increase in the tax levy.  In an effort to further realize taxpayer savings, the Administration has aggressively sought state and federal grant dollars. Some examples include:     

• $10M State Grant for Community Center
• $3M Federal Grant for Community Center
• $3.75M SAFER Grant for 12 new firefighters

The $5.3M increase to the proposed budget is being funded with the following projected revenue streams:

• $1.4M Taxes
• $1.8M Tangible Reimbursement
• $1.1M Interest Income
• $200K Meals and Other State Aid
• $150K Fires Rescue Fees
• $150K Fire HSGP 24
• $300K School Other Income

“The City’s finances remain stable and strong, and this budget continues our efforts to provide affordable, quality services, while also recognizing the challenges that our taxpayers face in this economic inflationary climate,” – Mayor Bob DaSilva

The City Council will have final say over the administration spending plan after October workshops and a council public vote.

An interactive link to the proposed budget is available on OpenGov, on the city’s transparency portal: https://stories.opengov.com/eastprovidenceri/published/XxwJuzw3k6

Governor Announces Bridge Small Business Grants
(But city council differs in disbursement plan)
Governor Dan McKee, Rhode Island Secretary of Commerce Liz Tanner, Senate Majority Whip Valarie Lawson, Representative Jennifer Boylan, East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva, and Providence Mayor Brett Smiley announced eligibility details and application timelines for the Washington Bridge Small Business Grant Program during an event held at the Red Bridge Tavern in East Providence last month.

Included in the State’s FY25 budget and funded through federal State Fiscal Recovery Fund (SFRF) dollars, the Washington Bridge Small Business Grant Program will offer grants of up to $2,500 to support small businesses impacted by the temporary closure and reconstruction of the Washington Bridge.

“This winter was tough for businesses that rely on the Washington Bridge, and even though we were able to get six lanes moving again pretty quickly, and traffic volume is back to where it was, businesses still need help to offset some of the losses they experienced this winter,” said Governor Dan McKee. “I want to thank the cities of East Providence and Providence, the RI Commerce Corporation and our legislature for working together to make $2.6 million available to local businesses.”

The application portal for the Washington Bridge Small Business Grant Program was officially opened on Tuesday, Sept. 10^th but the deadline has been extended by the state. For the purposes of this grant program, eligible small businesses are defined as businesses based in Rhode Island with less than $2 million in annual revenue. Sole proprietors and non-profit organizations are eligible to apply.  Applicants must have experienced a negative revenue impact (minimum $500 or 10% revenue loss) as a result of the Washington Bridge temporary closure and reconstruction.

Senate Majority Whip Valarie J. Lawson (D-Dist. 14, East Providence) said, “The Washington Bridge closure has created serious hardships for small businesses and the hard-working people they employ. Through no fault of their own, they have faced enormous disruptions. As leaders of our communities and our state, it’s our responsibility to stand up for all of them. Helping businesses keep their doors open and keep workers on the payroll is the most immediate and impactful assistance we can provide. That’s what makes this grant program so important, and I am grateful for everyone who worked hard to make it a reality. To the business community in East Providence, Providence, and all of Rhode Island – we stand with you, and we will continue to support you.”

Depending on applicants’ locations, the new grant program will be administered by Rhode Island Commerce, the City of East Providence, or the City of Providence. Of the $2.6 million allocated to this program, $1.2 million is earmarked for businesses located in East Providence; $800,000 for businesses located in Providence; and $600,000 for businesses located in all other municipalities across the state.

“East Providence is a resilient community,” said East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva. “Our residents and small businesses have rebounded from what was a challenging situation with the Washington Bridge Closure. This $1.2 million will be an incredible boon to our local economy and will help businesses make a complete rebound from the situation,” Mayor DaSilva added.

Grant awards for eligible small businesses are set at pre-determined tiers of $500, $1,000 and $2,500. Grant amounts will be determined based on applicants’ reported levels of economic impact. Grant tiers and eligibility requirements were set collectively by Rhode Island Commerce, the City of Providence, and City of East Providence.

Council Balks at Mayor’s Idea to use Gift Cards for Bridge Grants
For East Providence’s part, Mayor DaSilva wanted to split grants between businesses and residents with the goal of helping business by increasing their customer bases.  The administration proposed allocating $600,000 of the grant total for a gift card program. The rest would go to businesses directly.  A private firm would administer the program to residents who could only use the $50 cards in East Providence.  Most of the council wanted all of the grant funds to go directly to affected businesses which met certain criteria.  The proposal to issue $50 gift cards was denied.

Mayor DaSilva elected to lead RI Cities & Towns Group
The Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns elected East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva as its president and a new slate of officers at its 56th annual meeting on September 18. “I am honored to have been selected by my fellow mayors, town managers and administrators to represent the needs of our 39 cities and towns,” said Mayor Bob DaSilva, League President. “I look forward to continuing to work with our state and federal leaders to tackle critical issues facing our communities, while also maintaining affordability for local taxpayers. Congratulations to Randy Rossi on being appointed the new director of the league and thank you to Mayor Charlie Lombardi for his leadership as the past president and to Ernie Almonte for his leadership as the director.”

R.I. League of Cities and Towns Executive Board:

President: Bob DaSilva, Mayor, East Providence

Vice-Presidents: 

Andrew Nota, 1st Vice President, Town Manager, East Greenwich

Kenneth Hopkins, Mayor, Cranston

Hillary Lima, Council President, Coventry

Xay Khamsyvoravong, Mayor, Newport

City DPW Duo win National Awards
The City of East Providence sent DPW workers, Joe Sullivan and Corey Pena, to Colorado for the American Public Works Association Snow Plow competition. They placed 5th in the entire country overall. The duo won 1st place in the road maneuver course.  Sullivan and Corey are in Loveland, CO.  attending the Western Snow and Ice Conference which is the location of the yearly National Snow Roadeo.  They first competed in the Rhode Island Public Works Association (RIPWA) snow plow ‘Rhodeo.’ And placed 2nd which sent them to the regional competition for New England. In the New England competition, they placed 2nd which qualified them for the national competition.

“Let’s think about that for a minute. They beat out plow teams from across the country that annually must deal with feet of snow fall. Pretty impressive and makes me proud to have them on our team,” said Mayor DaSilva.

Proper Disposal of Corrugated plastic lawn signs 
The City of East Providence Dept. of Public Works would like to inform residents that corrugated plastic lawn signs such as campaign, birthday and other celebrations signs are not recyclable with your household recycling. Please do not dispose of these signs in your recycling cart. However, they can be recycled by bringing them to the Public Works Complex at 60 Commercial Way and placing them in the area designated for rigid plastic and the metal holders can also be recycled by placing them in the area for scrap metal.  For questions or more information, please contact DPW Program Coordinator, Donna McMahon at (401) 435-7701 Fax: 434-1725

Planning Board Recommends Mayor’s Proposed 2024-2025 Capital Budget
Mayor allocates an additional $1.3 million for roads and sidewalks
City Planning Board Recommends Mayor’s Budget with $2.3M Infrastructure Work
During a City of East Providence Planning Board meeting in August, the board voted unanimously to recommend the Fiscal Year 24/25 Capital Improvement Budget for this year's upcoming fiscal year, along with providing an advisory recommendation to the City Council.

The FY 24/25 $6,118,625 Capital Budget puts a great emphasis on public safety and city services including over $2.1 million in total for the replacement of a 1995 Ladder 3 (tower truck), which is currently 29 years old. The tower truck is pivotal for the safety of residents throughout the city as it is stationed in Rumford and would be the primary response to an incident at some of our high-rise buildings including Rumford Towers, Office Parkway, and City View.

This capital allocation also proposes a replacement purchase of a 2019 rescue vehicle, Rescue 2, which has exceeded industry standard frontline status, with an existing mileage of 122,825.

In addition to the original $1 million proposed in the Capital Budget for sidewalk and roadway improvements; following conversations with Council President Bob Rodericks and Ward 3 Councilman Francis Fogarty, Mayor DaSilva has allocated an additional $1.3 million for a total of $2.3 million for city infrastructure improvements including repaving roads throughout the city.

Other proposals within the City’s FY 2025 Capital Budget include $285,000 for the Department of Public Works to add three plow trucks for snow removal.

This capital budget improvements include funds for the City’s cybersecurity and recycling, air quality at City Hall, and a replacement generator used for fire suppression and security systems during power outages at Crescent Park Looff Carousel.

“These capital improvements are a result of input from our department heads, who work 365 days a year to bring the highest level of service to our community,” Mayor Bob DaSilva said. “These needs were carefully vetted by our staff and positions the City of East Providence to continue providing the highest level of service to our residents.”

Additionally, following meetings and conversations with East Providence School District Superintendent Sandra Forand, School Finance Director Craig Enos, Chief of Staff Patricia Resende and City Finance Director Malcolm Moore, discussions have begun about closing out the East Providence High School bond.

Once the project is fully complete, there is an anticipated overage of approximately $3 million. Based on conversations, the intent is to take any overage from the East Providence High School bond and use that funding to pay for future East Providence School Department Capital Improvements.

Mayor DaSilva’s administration, along with school leaders are still in the early stages of this conversation and are awaiting action from the School Building Committee and East Providence School Committee before moving forward.