Providence City Council Meeting | May 6th, 2025 | Committee on Finance

Good evening. My name is Helen Anthony. I'm the chair of finance for the city council, and I'm calling to meeting or calling to order our public meeting on Tuesday, 05/06/2025 at 05:30 p. M. I am going to waive the readings of the agenda items one through four.

We're here to hear everyone's comments on the budget as has been proposed by the mayor. I think that's all why you all are here. I'd like to recognize my committee members that are here this evening. We've got Councilor Sanchez, Councilor Anderbaugh, Councilor Graves, Councilor I think that's it for the committee. Oh, I'm sorry.

And Councilor Taylor, who's sitting right next to me.

So sorry. I'm so sorry. Okay.

Then I also have Counselor Espinal, who's joined us, Counselor O'Brien, Counselor Gonsal, thank you very much. They're here. Tonight, I think for the first time that I can remember, we have an interpreter, a Spanish interpreter. And so, he is going to speak for a minute. Thank you.

Very grateful. And so he is going to announce. So if anyone does not speak English but speak Spanish, they can come up and testify. I'm gonna allow extra time for them to sign the signing sheets. And if I can ask the interpreter to to repeat what I just said.

Thank you. Thank you. I hope everyone was able to hear that. And then if you hold that very close to your mouth, we have terrible acoustics in here. We're trying to improve it with a carpet, but I'm not sure how much better we've made it.

But if you could please speak loudly. Okay. So as everyone knows, we'd really like you to sign up. We're going to give everyone a couple more minutes, but I am going to start the meeting. If you could please keep your comments.

We have a lot of people who would like to be heard tonight. So if you could keep your comments to two minutes, I'll be giving you the little wave and the reminder. But we really do want to move things along so we can make sure we hear from every person here this evening. So I'd like to thank you so much for coming, and I look forward to hearing your testimony. So if I could have the first couple of sign in sheets.

Thank you. I'm sorry. I also forgot. Obviously, I'm forgetting either side, but I we also have Ken Cheverini here from the city solicitor's office. Okay.

The first one on the list is Jason Asenser, a 102Linwood. Thank you. If you would please and if everyone can remember to make sure the mic is on and speak directly into the mic so everyone can hear you. Thank you. And if everyone can state your name and address.

Yes. Hello. My name is Jayerson. As I'm sorry, you can call me Jayer. One zero two Lynnwood Avenue.

I'm a local farmer. My main thing is making sure that we take care of our community gardens and focus on good nutrition for our our community as well as our schools. Something I'm talking with miss Sue and her about is making sure we have healthy food options in our schools. So I just wanna point that out as a side thing. In regards to the budget, the main question I would have is what would make sense as to lowering taxes for commercial properties while raising them for regular people.

I just don't understand that. I wanna point to that. I also see and, you know, I'm a lay person, but it says there's only 7,000 put aside for housing, and I know we're in a housing crisis. I while I don't know how to read the budget perfectly, I would just ask why is it such a small number.

In general, I just know that we are having difficulties with raising money, but I you know, there are more than just, you know, direct taxation ways to get that money, and I just want a open conversation that allows the average person to have a degree of security, in the budget. That's basically everything I have to say.

Thank you. We appreciate your testimony.

And

also, I'd like to mention that we also have a number of exhibits, people that have actually sent in written testimony. We have some copies available. I just want to make sure everyone knows that those will be considered also. The next one on the list is Cheryl Space.

So good afternoon, honorable members of the finance committee. I'm Cheryl Space, and I'm here today as the library director of the Community Libraries Providence, and I thank you for your time in hearing my testimony. So I'm here to express my gratitude and to communicate the importance of level funding for the library in mayors that's in currently in mayor Smiley's proposed f y twenty six budget, maintaining the $255,000 increase we received last year is crucial to funding our operations, and just as important, municipalities must at least level fund their libraries to receive the full state grant in aid, which which is almost a million dollars for us. Our libraries operate on an extremely tight budget, and we stretch every dollar we receive, and I'm proud to say that we are trusted and responsible stewards of the public's investment. I know this is a challenging financial time for the city, and the library board and staff are grateful that the city values the libraries, understands and appreciates their impact on quality of life in our diverse neighborhoods, and has demonstrated their support in a tangible way by maintaining our funding.

As you know, the city's funding is our is 65% of our operating budget. It's our primary funding source. We received 26 payments, which help us make payroll by biweekly. The city punts funding pays for essential services like the staff who provide programs, maintain collections, and keep the libraries open in nine neighborhood locations, and personnel costs are 71% of our budget. This funding also pays for essential repairs, maintenance, and upgrades to the library buildings, eight of which we lease from the city, but we maintain them on our own.

Level funding would allow us to retain the staffing levels to keep Mount Pleasant, Rochambeau, and Knight Memorial Libraries open the additional hours the ARPA funding allowed, which includes four evenings a week and all day on Saturday. It allows us to retain the new positions we were able to add, specifically the makerspace program staff. And third, it allows us to maintain the staffing levels to keep our doors open for the nearly half million people who visit our libraries each year, providing more than 100 free high quality programs per week, including free after school meals at eight of our libraries. As we head into the summer, our libraries will be buzzing nonstop, filled with youth participating in over 400 summer learning programs in addition to serving nearly 500 people each week through our mobile library, will operate in the parks. So our public libraries are welcoming and inclusive free spaces where neighbors can shield from inclement weather, access clean restrooms and cold drinking water, charge their devices, print, notarize, and gain support accessing benefits and jobs.

There are so few places and communities that provide no barrier to entry, and those spaces are more important than ever, especially in these challenging times for everyone. So I ask for your support in maintaining the level funding for the community libraries of Providence. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Next is Joshua Franco.

Thank you, chairman. Thank you to the committee and also the other counselors that serves Providence. I just wanted to say, looking over Don't the forget

to say your name and address for the record.

Sorry. Joshua Franco, 88 Pembroke. I think the the problem that we need to address is the fact that if we're gonna do all these projects, I think the RFP processing has to be effective. What I mean by effective is actually having companies. If you're gonna have private companies come in as play as a stakeholder, actually give jobs to Providence residents from the black and brown community or particularly the public housing committee.

Reason why I say that is because when you're walking around Providence, you see all these projects, but then you don't know who works within these projects. That's a lot of money that's leaving Providence. That could be a solution to where you can create more taxes, but also create more quality of life standards so we can actually improve everyone's quality of life standards too within their families, within their incomes. Though not to get off track, one of the biggest concerns I do see is homelessness. I think that a lot of people are afraid to talk about it, but let's start the conversation.

When you're going next to classical central and PCTA, you see homeless shelters. But yet again, my biggest question to the the council chambers right now, how many of those people that are being serviced are sex offenders, to be very frank with you? I'm just thinking about the safety of our our kids, but also thinking about the safety of our community. Because at the same time, you're gonna have opioid crisis, you're gonna have sex offenders, and you're gonna have a lot of these, if you wanna say problems, being faced within our kids. This is coming from someone that actually went to four different high schools within the Providence District.

I've seen these problems walking to the schools. Though, again, like I said, it goes into the quality of life standards. If we don't focus on the little things that do matter the most outside the schools, also inside, like, the education proponents, we as a city is gonna fail. That's all I have to say. Thank you.

Thank you so much for your comments. Next, have Greg Garrett.

Good evening, members of the committee. My name is Greg Garrett. I live on 37 6th Street. I'll start with one thing first. There should never be tax breaks for high end real estate.

No market rate or high end real estate should ever get a tax break. Even the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund say that's a really bad use of money. It's about as bad a use of money as as building stadiums for for baseball teams and soccer teams. It always costs communities money. So we should never be doing any of that.

The second thing I'm gonna say is that the most important crisis that we face is the climate crisis. And if we do not get right on climate, we are not gonna have a community, we are not gonna have an economy. And in order to do that, you need to focus on two things. You need to focus on climate, and you need to focus on justice. And so the budget of the city should keep the sustainability department as big and strong as possible, keep all of the investments in climate as strong as possible, and just, you know, that is the key things that we have to do is focus on the climate, and then also food security, and all of the things that come beyond that.

And our economic development money too often goes to the medical industrial complex, goes to, you know, high end stuff. It should only go to the projects that are run-in low income communities by the people of that community. If you're sending money to people from outside of those neighborhoods, then you're contributing to gentrification and displacement. So let's have a city budget that works on climate, on justice, and on economic development that works for low income communities rather than anybody else. Thank you.

Thank you, Greg. Next, I have Peggy Farrell.

Thank

you, many members, for the opportunity to speak to you this evening.

Don't forget to say your name and address.

I was getting there. My name is Peggy Farrell, and I'm here on behalf of Providence After School Alliance, PASA. Normally, our executive director, Ann Durham, would be speaking tonight to you, but she's on a well deserved vacation. I have been on the board of PASA since June 2013, and am now the secretary and on the finance committee. So, thank you very much.

In my private life, I'm a lawyer at a local law firm. I want to first say how grateful we are that the proposed budget level funds, recognize that you have an incredibly difficult and challenging job. I'm sure you can appreciate that a lot of organizations also have a very challenging and difficult environment, particularly in the education and equity arena. I think this work has become even more important post COVID as we're dealing with the challenges of learning deficits and emotional well-being that are the legacies of the post COVID era. So I want to thank you very much for that, for your continued support in that budget.

I joined PASA because I think that its work is critical to the youth of this city, and therefore, the city itself. PASA is its purpose, its mission, is to provide after school programs that are engaging for youth development, and they are focused very much on those of underprivileged and vulnerable communities. Without this funding from the city, PASA just simply can't continue to do it the critical work that it currently does. I think some statistics would be helpful. In the last two fiscal years, POS has served between thirteen hundred and twelve hundred students in the city schools.

We would do more if we had the funds to do more. Although its programs are open to all students in the schools that host us, they are the vast majority are students of low income and vulnerable populations. PASA provides them with opportunities and experiences that I had as a child, because I had Girl Scouts and other things. Those opportunities gave me the confidence to grow into a successful adult. Furthermore, I think it's important to recognize that PASA contributes to the academic achievement.

One of the requirements to participate in PASA programs is to be in school, and we know there is a direct correlation between school attendance and academic success. So, once again, I want to thank you for the support in the budget and for the revenue sources that support that level funding. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much for your testimony. Next is Grant Delgarian.

I

understand, Mr. Bulgarian, you have to make your choice, and I will call on you if you're here at the end of the list. Okay. Jackie Goldman.

Jackie Goldman, 142 Enfield Avenue in Providence. So over the past four or five years, I've probably knocked somewhere between thirteen and fifteen thousand doors in Providence. And one of the things that I've been hearing from people overwhelmingly is that they cannot afford to live in this city. There are people who've outright owned their homes who are having to think about selling them because their property taxes have increased year over year, people who are scared about this reality, and this has been not just this year, but four years. We live in this city with the single, biggest gap between median income and how expensive housing is, and yet this council is considering or at least the mayor and the council are considering raising taxes even more.

This is not something that we can do, and there are other ways that we can make this funding happen. So first of all, accurate assessments of all buildings in Providence. I don't understand why it is that many of the major developers saw their assessments go down while everyone else saw their assessments go up. Something is fishy there. Clearly, that is the city's priorities and raising money off of everyday people instead of these large developers.

I also don't I I think that we can consider also having different tax rates for different kinds of residential property. Why is it that someone who lives in, like, a pretty modest either single family or duplexes tax for property at the same rate as, like, a large multimillion dollar house somewhere else in the city. I work every day in overdose prevention, and the people that I work with who are people who are unhoused, people that have not had housing for years, and this is getting worse. And I beg the city council to not make housing more expensive when we desperately, desperately need low income affordable options that everyday people in this city can actually afford.

Thank you so much for your testimony. And before we proceed, I'd like to recognize that we have council president Miller with us. I'm so sorry. Council president. Okay.