First it was Secretary of the Republican Town Committee Bob Bledsoe and now it’s council candidate Joseph Robicheau trying to take credit for the AAA bond rating achieved by town staff and the present Democratic council. Mr. Robicheau claims it is all due to pension reform which he seems to believe was only in Portsmouth from 2010-12 and not a statewide effort or an ongoing town effort. In place of that simplistic analysis if he took a moment to look at the application for bond rating modification that was submitted to the rating agencies he would see that reduced pension obligations were only a part of it. The ratings agencies looked at ongoing economic development, fund balance, infrastructure improvements, debt service policy, focus on non-property tax revenues, capital reserve, strong tax collection practices and a myriad of other factors that define a well managed municipality. It is pie in the sky to claim the AAA rating could have been achieved under Mr. Robichaeu’s leadership, considering his council’s failure to meet the required contribution to the fund balance every year, its habit of treating the local businesses community like second class citizens every time a political ally complained about a local business and its talent for getting the town engaged in costly litigation so blatantly foolish the Town’s insurer has refused to cover the damages, (which could exceed a million dollars). Doesn’t anyone remember that Mr. Robicheau’s personal recommendation for resolving the town fiscal issues was for the town to file bankruptcy!!?
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciated the entertainment value of Mr. Robicheau and Ms. Staven, then President and Vice President of the council, engaging in a physical wrestling match over the gavel and watching the council debate for a half hour whether to extend the meeting deadline from 10 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. before voting to extend the meeting and then immediately voting to adjourn since the argument over whether to continue consumed all the additional time. You can’t make that stuff up. However, I value much more the quiet and professional manner the current council has addressed town issues. Doggedly pursuing a solution to the wind turbine instead of scrapping it at a cost of 2 million dollars as their Republican and Independent counterparts proposed. Mending the relationship with DEM so that DEM agreed to pursue a non-sewer solution to the wastewater issues in Island and Portsmouth Parks; reducing overtime expenses by almost 50%, and leading the other local municipalities in the fight against tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge. For everyone’s sake I certainly hope the citizens choose good government over entertainment when they go to the polls in November