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
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.

New city finance director tapped to piece together reporting wreckage from a previous mayoral administration
The nonprofit has been operating at the former St. Joseph’s Hospital facility for the past two years.
Newport-based musician and educator Chase Ceglie blends his Berklee-honed skills, love of songwriting, and a teacher’s mindset to help students — and himself — find rhythm through routine
Trump administration’s new policies for HUD, Health and Human Services grants cause ‘immediate harm,’ lawyer argues
Despite the closure of roughly 70 beds, Butler Hospital president and chief operating officer Mary Marran says her facility continues to provide quality psychiatric services to its patients