Please Take Action to Save Providence!
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From: Your Name <you@example.com>
To: rep-fox@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-paivaweed@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-ruggerio@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-mattiello@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-oneill@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-goodwin@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-melo@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-daponte@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-williams@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-carnevale@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-mccauley@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-slater@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-ciccone@rilin.state.ri.us, Sen-Pichardo@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-Gallison@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-naughton@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-jackson@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-slater@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-ajello@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-blazejewski@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-metts@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-jabour@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-perry@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-miller@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-petrarca@rilin.state.ri.us
Subject: Please Take Action to Save Providence!
I am writing to urge you to save our great capital city of Providence.
The capital city is making tough financial decisions to get the City's fiscal house in order, but the City needs changes in State Law to save Providence regarding tax exempts, municipal COLAs and unfunded state mandates.
Many shared in the sacrifice to move Providence forward. The City laid off nonunion staff and froze nonessential hiring. Providence tax payers have sacrificed: enduring increased property taxes, car taxes, and fee increases. Many of those same tax payers are battling unemployment, foreclosure, and the general effects of a stagnant economy. City workers from Local 1033 came to table and sacrificed, reducing their pay and longevity. Many retired to spare their co-workers from layoffs. City firefighters, who had fiercely fought for and finalized a contract only months before, came back to the bargaining table. They sacrificed in order to help the capital city. Providence police officers took the difficult step of agreeing to as many as six years without a raise in order to save their youngest officers from losing their jobs. Many chose the option of early retirement. Our teachers went through a very public and painful process of sacrifice - including termination notices and the closing of 5 schools, affecting not only our teachers but our students, parents and neighborhoods. In all, over 200 people who were on payroll a year ago are no longer on the city payroll.
However, not everyone has sacrificed. The failure of Providence's tax-exempts to sacrifice has left a $7.1 million hole in our budget. Collectively, Providence's large hospitals, colleges, and universities own nearly $3 billion worth of property in the city of Providence. Because of their privileged status as tax-exempts they avoided almost $105 million in taxes this past year. Despite this privilege, the tax-exempts have thus far refused to share in the sacrifice to save Providence.
Please support the legislation this session that ensures that the tax-exempts pay for the critical services that cities provide to them. Please also support legislation that permits cities to collect property taxes on buildings used for purposes unrelated to the educational or healthcare mission of the tax exempt.
Providence retirees have not yet sacrificed and are hiding behind decades-old contracts and a consent decree that promised ill-advised and unsustainable 5% and 6% compounded yearly raises. More than 600 retirees are receiving these raises and have raised our pension liability and yearly contribution into the stratosphere. Moreover, while our active city workers, police officers, teachers and firefighters are going without raises, these retirees enjoy the luxury of 5% and 6% compounded raises every year.
Please support enabling legislation to suspend COLAs at the local level in order to strengthen Providence's legal position as the City takes the necessary steps to get our pension costs under control.
Finally, please support legislation that will relieve the burden of unfunded state mandates from cities like Providence. These unfunded mandates are costly and unaffordable in a time of crisis.
Thank you in advance for your efforts to save our great capital city of Providence.
Your Name
Your Organization
123 Your St.
Yousville, YO 12345
Phone: (123)456-7890
Fax: (123)456-7890x123
p.s.
Your Personal Statement
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Campaign (<em>2698</em>): <em>Please Take Action to Save Providence!</em>
Learn more about this campaign here: <em>http://www.citizenspeak.org/campaign/save-providence/please-take-action-save-providence</em>
--
This campaign was created with CitizenSpeak. Visit us online at http://citizenspeak.org
To: rep-fox@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-paivaweed@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-ruggerio@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-mattiello@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-oneill@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-goodwin@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-melo@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-daponte@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-williams@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-carnevale@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-mccauley@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-slater@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-ciccone@rilin.state.ri.us, Sen-Pichardo@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-Gallison@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-naughton@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-jackson@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-slater@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-ajello@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-blazejewski@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-metts@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-jabour@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-perry@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-miller@rilin.state.ri.us, rep-petrarca@rilin.state.ri.us
Subject: Please Take Action to Save Providence!
I am writing to urge you to save our great capital city of Providence.
The capital city is making tough financial decisions to get the City's fiscal house in order, but the City needs changes in State Law to save Providence regarding tax exempts, municipal COLAs and unfunded state mandates.
Many shared in the sacrifice to move Providence forward. The City laid off nonunion staff and froze nonessential hiring. Providence tax payers have sacrificed: enduring increased property taxes, car taxes, and fee increases. Many of those same tax payers are battling unemployment, foreclosure, and the general effects of a stagnant economy. City workers from Local 1033 came to table and sacrificed, reducing their pay and longevity. Many retired to spare their co-workers from layoffs. City firefighters, who had fiercely fought for and finalized a contract only months before, came back to the bargaining table. They sacrificed in order to help the capital city. Providence police officers took the difficult step of agreeing to as many as six years without a raise in order to save their youngest officers from losing their jobs. Many chose the option of early retirement. Our teachers went through a very public and painful process of sacrifice - including termination notices and the closing of 5 schools, affecting not only our teachers but our students, parents and neighborhoods. In all, over 200 people who were on payroll a year ago are no longer on the city payroll.
However, not everyone has sacrificed. The failure of Providence's tax-exempts to sacrifice has left a $7.1 million hole in our budget. Collectively, Providence's large hospitals, colleges, and universities own nearly $3 billion worth of property in the city of Providence. Because of their privileged status as tax-exempts they avoided almost $105 million in taxes this past year. Despite this privilege, the tax-exempts have thus far refused to share in the sacrifice to save Providence.
Please support the legislation this session that ensures that the tax-exempts pay for the critical services that cities provide to them. Please also support legislation that permits cities to collect property taxes on buildings used for purposes unrelated to the educational or healthcare mission of the tax exempt.
Providence retirees have not yet sacrificed and are hiding behind decades-old contracts and a consent decree that promised ill-advised and unsustainable 5% and 6% compounded yearly raises. More than 600 retirees are receiving these raises and have raised our pension liability and yearly contribution into the stratosphere. Moreover, while our active city workers, police officers, teachers and firefighters are going without raises, these retirees enjoy the luxury of 5% and 6% compounded raises every year.
Please support enabling legislation to suspend COLAs at the local level in order to strengthen Providence's legal position as the City takes the necessary steps to get our pension costs under control.
Finally, please support legislation that will relieve the burden of unfunded state mandates from cities like Providence. These unfunded mandates are costly and unaffordable in a time of crisis.
Thank you in advance for your efforts to save our great capital city of Providence.
Your Name
Your Organization
123 Your St.
Yousville, YO 12345
Phone: (123)456-7890
Fax: (123)456-7890x123
p.s.
Your Personal Statement
--
Campaign (<em>2698</em>): <em>Please Take Action to Save Providence!</em>
Learn more about this campaign here: <em>http://www.citizenspeak.org/campaign/save-providence/please-take-action-save-providence</em>
--
This campaign was created with CitizenSpeak. Visit us online at http://citizenspeak.org
