Governor Chafee’s municipal reform and relief package, announced last week, has garnered support from organizations and media outlets across the state.
“Chafee’s legislative package represents a comprehensive attempt to curb the soaring costs of local retirees as well as help communities get control of the runaway contract costs built into their school budgets,” said Harriet Lloyd, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition. “Budget problems and pension debt vary from town to town so we believe the Governor had no choice but to take this multi-tiered approach in trying to prescribe reforms that could provide relief to communities.”
“We applaud Governor Chafee for much of his administration's big legislative package aimed at giving the state’s fiscally distressed communities more power over their finances,” stated a Providence Journal editorial on March 20.
The editorial went on to discuss the difficulties facing cities and towns across Rhode Island, and the ways in which the Governor’s municipal package addresses those issues in a proactive manner.
“The Chafee administration should be praised for bravely coming forth with a remarkably broad initiative to address these issues,” the editorial says.
The Westerly Sun also published an editorial assessing the Governor’s proposal. “Chafee is recommending tough medicine as a way to continue treating the epidemic of unfunded pension plans,” the editorial states. “The lack of funds is a sad reality, but it is the reality. We don’t take lightly the thought of backing a plan that reneges on promises. But the reality is current governors and mayors and town councils and legislators are stuck dealing with the games their predecessors played,” asserts the editorial.
The Governor unveiled his proposal in Pawtucket last week alongside mayors and officials from cities and towns across Rhode Island.
