Providence Committee on Finance-Tuesday, April 22, 2025-5:30 PM
Call to Order and Roll Call
Chairwoman Helen Anthony called the Committee on Finance meeting to order and established a quorum with five members present. She also introduced participating city staff and administration representatives.
Appointment of Justin Desha to the Providence Public Building Authority (Item 1)
The committee considered the mayoral appointment of Justin Desha to the Providence Public Building Authority to serve a term expiring January 31, 2030. After reviewing his professional background and discussing expectations regarding transparency, the committee voted to recommend his approval.
FY2026 Proposed Budget Overview Presentation
Finance Director Sarah Silveria and Deputy Finance Director Crystal Albright presented an overview of the proposed $624 million FY2026 operating budget, outlining the tax levy adjustments, revaluations, and revenue assumptions. Council members asked questions regarding property tax rate changes across multi-unit classifications, fixed pension costs, state aid projections, and new departmental initiatives.
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Evening. My name is Helen Anthony. I'm the chair of the committee on finance. I'm calling to order a regular meeting on Tuesday, 04/22/2025 at 05:36PM. Madam clerk, would
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you please call the roll? Chairwoman Anthony? Present. Vice Chairman Taylor?
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Here.
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Councilor Andy Fox? Here. Councilwoman Graves? Here. Councilor Sanchez?
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Present. We have five presidents.
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We have a four. Thank you so much. Another thing. I'd like to thank Ken Cheverini who's here from the city solicitor's office. Gina Costa, our auditor, is here.
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Thank you very much. You have a hospital running us this evening. And, of course, we have our wonderful clerk, Donna and Melissa, who are calling us happy, friendly, and diligent. That's all I'm gonna say. Thank you very much.
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Okay. With that, madam Murphy, please read the agenda item number one.
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Communication from his honor, the mayor, dated 03/24/2025, informing the uplifting members of the city council that pursuant to section three zero two b of the Providence Homewood Charter of 1980 as amended in public law chapter 45 through 50 sections one through 31 passed in 1987, He is this day appointing Justin Desha of 62 Alumni Avenue, Providence, Rhode Island 02906
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as a member
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of the Providence Public Building Authority for a term to expire on 01/31/2030 and we're respectfully with the same for your approval. Mr. Deshaw replaces Mr. Hilbridge who was resigned.
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Mhmm. Wonderful. Mr. Deshaw, if you wouldn't mind coming to for us at the table, but we'll swear you in first. So if you can remain standing, that would be great.
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Just bear your wrathing. Please swear on the penalty of surgery that testimony of
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the doctor gave me truly the whole truth and nothing but
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I do. And please state your name for the record.
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Justin Hops to show me.
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Thank you so much for coming this evening. Certainly we certainly appreciate your willingness to serve on the Providence Gilbert Building Authority, and we would love just a little short synopsis of your background and what it is you would like to serve.
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Certainly. So I spent most of my, adult career in banking, called commercial banking. Started out in Bank of Boston, in Boston, which became SLEEP, which then became Bank of America. And then we became SLEEP, acquisition of Bank of Boston, and brought myself and then just my wife down here to Providence, where my wife, despite plenty of opportunities to leave the city for career advancement, said we are not moving, and we've been there ever since. And we've we've got three children that have been born and raised in the city.
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All three have or are going to classical high school. And two are two are in college or out of college. The other one that's has left, I gotta get him through. But it's I spent my entire career in finance. Early in my career, I I first started with Arthur Andersen as a staff logger and and actually joined the wealth administration very briefly under Charlie Baker.
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I was the capital planning director for Darley's office. So that's that's it in a nutshell.
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And help tell us why you'd like to serve on the public.
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So the the city, it it needs active residents, citizens. It can't operate just by letting assuming that that, with all due respect, the elected officials and executives in charge of the city and just operate in the back. It needs equity members. And I and I see this in schools much of anything. We all know full well.
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Parent involvement in schools is is critical to the success of a school. I say that the same with city government and state government. Citizen involvement is critical. And so I I asked the mayor, and he kindly complied. Know, how can I get more?
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Well, I certainly appreciate it. We have had the I'm just gonna be honest with you. I think we we have had a PPD PPDA reports recently on an issue, and it I I will say that there isn't a lot about I don't think necessarily communication and transparency between the PBBA and finance committee had made it come. And so I know we have some of appointees. Thrilled for the appointees.
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You've been one of them. And I'm just looking forward to a new era of communication. Not that we need help to be. I don't think answering to the call, but we do like to make sure that, you know, the processes that you use are at least confined with the work and compliance and supply requirements and things like that. I know that's not even necessarily right now a requirement for the PPBA, but I'm hoping that it does become somewhat of a requirement.
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So, anyway, I'm looking forward to a new relationship with the with your your organization or the committee that we're gonna be serving on. And I think your resume is excellent. I'm just gonna turn it over to our committee members in case you have any comments or questions. Yes. I really don't have a I really don't have any question.
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I wanna add my voice with the chairperson. I'm looking forward to a lot more transparency and all of the good health and voice and good health effect that we've worked with. But after looking at your resume, I have to say that I am impressed with some of the volunteer work that you've done. So I because I think sometimes we like to to pull out all the bankers and, you know, all these people that we think can bring money to it or bring the upper echelon to work, but sometimes we need to know that that they understand what is going on in for everyone else. And these things show that you're well rounded in that.
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And
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I
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I agree. And I and I I appreciate it too because it it it says a lot about a person when they're willing to give up their time for nonpaying, volunteering, just giving of that.
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Right.
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Wonderful. Any more questions or comments? Is there a motion?
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I make a motion approved, number one.
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Second. Okay. The motion is handed by counselor Taylor, seconded by counselor Graves. All in favor? Aye.
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All opposed. We will be recommending your approval at our next council meeting. Thank you. Thank you so much. We appreciate your service willingness to serve.
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Thank you.
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Thank you. Thank you. Okay.
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May I have a motion to waive the rate for items two, three, six, seven? Second. Motion made by councilor Angela. Second by councilor Taylor. All in favor?
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Aye. Opposed? Alright. And we are going to invite our AT and here tonight. We have Sarah Silveria, director of finance, fiscal member, deputy finance director for chief operating officer.
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Anyone else that's presenting tonight?
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Gonna wait five of those.
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Yeah. And you wanna you wanna be sworn and in case we have to throw a question here and there? Okay. Thank you.
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Okay. Please proceed. K. Well, let's by first walking you guys through these large, large books that you have been gifted from the finance department yesterday. Not only a little bit labor intensive, but while we're going through our line items, the one of my item I couldn't produce was coffee or in a printing machine, and it's just going back and back.
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So we're trying to do our part to, like, mitigate that cost as much as possible. And I have spares. So if you guys forget about whatever we've got some downstairs, we can bring up for you. But we will continue to provide materials that are not in these books, overviews, summaries of each department, but the individual line item detail will be.
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Mhmm. And if you don't mind me interrupting. So if if if you don't wanna take your song, I know our folks should have you do. Make sure that you have orders with you at every meeting. So you can take it home, but then you're not bringing it back to the meeting.
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I know you can leave it with the clerk's unit and hold it, and you can have it to refer to during the meetings. Thank you.
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Of course. So in addition to the budget book, which has all of our line by line details, some department descriptions, a lot of very helpful information, We have another book that's referred to the doctor. These are the same ordinances that are in this agenda packet, but they've been bound and put in a package so that they're easier reference and put through or take notes on if you have any adjustments or touches on any line items in here. The last book is personnel. This lists every allowed and funded position in the city of Providence along with an annual salary associated with each of those positions.
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So if you have any questions about things like those numbers, please let me know. But if they're they're good points of reference for you to understand what is making up the $624,000,000 operating budget. So in summary but actually, one more thing I want, You can all see Sarah and me and Hillary very, very regularly. But there's another really critical member of the budget team who is not the people today, but we're not on budget. She is not here.
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Melanie Duran is our budget analyst. We are a team of two building this budget, and so I can say with all certainty that I would not be here today at this moment without her. And her work is incredible. So we're trying to get her more acclimated to the committee. And she may be attending some of these sessions to get more people to see this side of things instead of just, you know, behind the screen, building it all up.
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Welcome. Mhmm. Welcome. Welcome. Okay.