Trillo urges Assembly to untie hands of mayors, town administrators

STATE HOUSE – For the past eight years, Rep. Joseph A. Trillo (R-Dist. 24, Warwick) has argued on the House floor that the General Assembly needed to stop passing laws that handcuff mayors, town administrators, and school committees and only benefit the municipal employee unions. This accumulation of years and years of oppressive state mandates has led to severe crises at both the state and local levels, and the time has come to provide some relief to these municipalities.

On January 7, 2009 ,Governor Carcieri introduced a supplemental budget that would close this year’s deficit and improve the state’s long term economic health without raising broad based taxes. This budget would reduce state local aid, and in turn, it would provide these cities and towns with the tools necessary to free themselves from these absurd union contracts.

“What the Governor has done and what I am urging the General Assembly to do is recognize that the cities and towns are different, that Westerly has different needs than Woonsocket,” said Representative Trillo. “These state mandates consume municipal budgets, and each city and town should be free to determine what is necessary in their community so they can spend the taxpayers’ money wisely, and on their actual needs as opposed to the mandates handed down by the state. The creation of state-wide health care and purchasing contracts are examples of reforms that would save cities and towns tens of millions dollars per year, every year going forward.”

“Some have said that by reducing local aid the Governor is turning one state budget problem into thirty-nine municipal budget problems,” said Representative Trillo. “What isn’t emphasized enough is that the General Assembly has helped create these thirty-nine municipal budget problems by burdening them with mandates and repeatedly passing laws that benefit municipal employee unions at the expense of the taxpayers. For years we have been getting in the way of municipal governments. Now is the time to free them from unnecessary mandates, and let them make the reforms necessary for their communities.

If the General Assembly passes the Articles pertaining to fee increases and local aid reductions, and rejects the Governor’s proposed municipal reforms they will cripple the cities and towns. This is not a budget that can be passed piece by piece; it must be passed in its entirety.”

The House Finance Committee is currently conducting hearings and receiving testimony concerning the FY 2009 supplemental budget (2009-H5019). No date has been set for a vote on the FY 2009 supplemental budget.