****Watch today’s news conference on YouTube****

PROVIDENCE – Mayor David N. Cicilline today thanked the Providence Teachers Union for coming forward with important contract concessions in light of the statewide financial crisis and the Mayor’s call for shared sacrifice. Mayor Cicilline has called on all City unions to make similar concessions to help prevent the kind of local fiscal crisis playing out in other towns and school districts.

The change in health care co-share will save the city $1.5 million every year. Under the tentative agreement, which covers fiscal years 2008-2010, teachers accepted a wage freeze for 2010. For the two years that have already elapsed, teachers will be compensated a 1.5% wage increase per year – significantly below the rate of inflation.  Providence teachers are in the State of Rhode Island pension system.  The tentative pact, which was approved by the PTU 947 to 73 (with 4 abstentions), now goes before the School Board for consideration.

“When the consequences of the national recession and the State budget crisis became clear, I called on all Providence stakeholders to step forward for our overburdened property taxpayers, and that’s exactly what the Providence Teachers Union has done,” said Mayor David N. Cicilline. “I thank our teachers and PTU President Steve Smith for heeding the call of shared sacrifice in these tough times.”

“This was a tough vote in tough economic times," said Steve Smith, President of the Providence Teachers Union.  “Our dedicated teachers, who work hard on behalf of our children every day in our schools, have done their part again.”

“This agreement is a show of good faith on the part of both the district and the teachers; it is an encouraging step forward toward our mutual goal of arriving at a long-term contract that will champion student achievement, support system reform, and reward professionalism in education,” said Tom Brady, Superintendent of Providence Schools.

The Mayor has implemented similar modifications to the benefits received by non-union employees including an increase in their health insurance co-pay to 20% effective July 1, 2009. They have also been directed to take furlough days in FY 2010 as they did in FY 2009.  The Mayor stressed the importance of implementing similar structural reforms in contracts with the City’s other unions as the only way of avoiding a financial meltdown.

Mayor Cicilline has vowed to do everything in his power to prevent a tax increase for local property taxpayers, whom he believes already pay an excessive share for City services. His efforts have included the elimination of 445 positions, the enactment of consolidation and efficiency measures, standing firm in his push for health care, pension, and personnel deployment reform, and seeking revenue outside of the property tax base, including additional contributions from the City’s large tax-exempt institutions.

Impact of State budget cuts on taxpayers

Despite the Mayor’s efforts to protect taxpayers from carrying an unfair burden, action taken by the Rhode Island House on the following budget items could have a devastating impact on taxpayers:

• Eliminated all General Revenue Sharing, funds that are intended to go back to cities and towns to offset property tax
• Preserved tax cuts for the wealthiest Rhode Islanders by refusing to freeze the flat tax
• Failed to free cities and towns from costly mandates or provide the tools necessary to reduce costs in local government
• Cut education funding
• Allowed supplanting of federal education dollars by preventing the those resources from reaching their intended destination: our children and their classrooms

 “Every budget is a collection of decisions that test priorities,” said Mayor Cicilline.  “The legislature’s actions do not reflect the priorities of average Rhode Islanders, the taxpayers who will pay the bill because of those decisions.”

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