City Leaders Find a Deficit Fix: New Taxes [Video]

"We've pretty much decided that we have a plan to pay off the deficit." That's what Mayor Bruce Rogers said after Thursday's combined meeting between the East Providence City Council and East Providence School Committee. Thursday's meeting marked the by both bodies to forge a solution to the city's $6.3 million deficit.

Rogers went on to say that the proposal, which includes an expansion of the Meals Tax, a "Pay as You Throw" fee on trash collection and expected monies from the state, is a combination of ideas from him and school committee member Chrissi Rossi.

Pay as You Throw is projected to bring the city $2,616,200 in revenues for Fiscal Year 2012.

City Finance Director Ellen Eggeman provided those present with a draft of projections, including revenues and expenses. Eggemen's estimations took into account the city-side of the deficit, as she said: "We cannot address the school department's deficit."

Even so, the city side did not garner support from Councilmen Michael DiGoia and William Conley Jr., who called the Pay as You Throw measure a tax that they could not support.

Our side, your side, one looming deficit

The divide between ownership of the city's deficit among the council and school committee was evident throughout the meeting. Each side complained of the absence of shared information and basic communication through a series of back-and-forths, while Rogers continued to point out that the deficit mainly stems from the school department.

"We have to do something drastic, things that we probably don't want to do on the city council, but things that are going to be drastic and have to be addressed," Rogers said during the meeting.

Luisa Abatecola of the school committee asked Rogers specifically where he suggests cuts come from in the school department come. Rogers repeated his urgent claim that the majority of the deficit comes from the school department and that both bodies must look into any and all ways to address the deficit.

'On the backs of our children'

The mayor's focus on the school department as the source of the financial problem did not go unchallenged. spoke against the assumption that the school department is prepared to make any more cuts or go through any more reorganization, such as larger class sizes or the consolidation of schools. 

"You've got 26 kids in a classroom," Rossi said to Rogers. "A lot of classrooms are not big enough to handle any more children. We don't have anywhere else to put them. How effective is it going to be for their education?"

Rossi added that the school department cannot withstand any more cuts and that raising revenues is the best approach. "We cannot balance this budget on the backs of our children," Rossi said forcefully. "It can't be done and educate them properly. We have nothing else to give."

Rogers said he agreed that the city should never balance the budget on the backs of our children, adding that they are the most important asset in the state. However, Rogers finished by resuming his call to the department to cut in a more "creative" way, which prompted Rossi's response: "$44 million dollars in 'creativity'? No one wants anything I've got. Everything I say, Ellen's got a refute."

School Committee Chairman Charles Tsonos said East Providence's high volume of special education students makes it more difficult to make blanket cuts to the department.

The council will introduce the revenue-building proposal that includes the revamped Meals Tax, Pay as You Throw and state funding expectations at the next council meeting on Sept. 6.

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