Local 'Encyclopedia' Of Finance To Help Providence Dig Out

As Providence deals with a historic budget crisis, a local resident has been tapped to help the capital city dig out of its $180 million hole.

The Providence City Council has hired Gary Sasse, longtime East Greenwich resident and one-time director of administration under Gov. Donald Carcieri, as fiscal adviser. The council is hoping to tap into Sasse’ expertise in finance to help close the deficit in the city budget over the next two years, according to council President Michael Solomon.

“Gary is a walking encyclopedia on fiscal matters and his depth of relevant experience and budgetary acumen will be invaluable as we delve further into the city’s true financial picture,” Solomon said in a release announcing Sasse’ appointment. “I look forward to working with him to solve Providence’s unprecedented challenges.”

Sasse said he will first be tasked with finding an immediate answer to the city’s $29 million current-year deficit. He will also investigate how the city slipped into such a deep fiscal hole, and “recommend concrete action to avoid a similar situation in the future,” Sasses said, acknowledging the enormity of the issue but expressing confidence the city can find a solution.

“Other towns have faced similar problems and been able to recover,” he said.

Sasse speaks from experience, having dealt with Providence’s last significant budget crisis. In 1981, former Mayor Vincent “Buddy” Cianci faced a $20.5 million shortfall in a $150 million budget, by percentages a similar deficit to that facing the city’s $600 million budget today. The City Council established the Providence Review Commission, a group of business leaders asked to find a way out of the morass. Sasse, appointed chairman of the group, led an investigation of the city’s finances. In the end, Cianci requested the largest property tax increase in Providence history — $16 per $1,000 of assessed value. The council ultimately settled on $11.43, a 20 percent increase.

Sasse said he does not expect a similar solution for the current fiscal crisis, which he termed as even worse than that of three decades ago.

“In ’81, the economy wasn’t as bad, so we had more flexibility to raise revenue,” said Sasse, who will also lead a commission to study the city’s revenue stream. “There are some very serious financial problems. But there’s no choice for the city but to solve the problem.”