Six Key Takeaways from Elorza's 2020 State of the City

How is Elorza Addressing the $2 Billion in Unfunded Pension and Healthcare Liabilities?

When asked why his speech didn't focus on how he planned to tackle the city's more than $2 billion in unfunded pension and OPEB liabilities, Elorza said it was just "one of the many challenges" the city faces.

"I mentioned it at the end [of my speech]. Let’s be realistic. We have all kinds of challenges, there’s growing healthcare expenses, there’s housing and homelessness, there’s displacement, opioid challenges, the growing division in society," said Elorza. 

"We have all kinds of challenges, but what is absolutely true is we’re in a better position today to address them than we have any time in the last decade, maybe even more," he said. 

"That’s the message of today’s speech, [it] was about, you know, we live in a Providence that is fundamentally different than the one I grew up in," said Elorza. 

What Has Elorza Done Since Abandoning His Plan to Sell or Lease the Water Supply?

In April 2019, Elorza abandoned his plan to sell or lease the Providence water supply to address the city's pension shortfall.

On Monday, he said he said that there is no "grand bargain" in the works. 

"As you know, I tried to monetize the water supply. There was no appetite for it at the State House, no appetite for it at the grassroots level. There’s only so many times I’m going to bang my head against the wall, when I realized that we’re not getting anywhere," he said.  

"We’re going to do two things — if there’s an opening to address the long-term challenges during my term, we’re going to take advantage of that," said Elorza. 

"We’re currently working on a number of proposals that aren’t the 'grand bargain' that fixes the entire problem, but there are smart gains we should do. We’re going to put a package together to make sure that passes," he said. "Some of these things require legislation, some of these things can be addressed through negotiations. I want to make sure at the end of my term…these long term liabilities are on everyone’s mind."

"We’ve looked at everything from going from a defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan…there’s some options around retirement. We have not abandoned raising awareness about it," he said. 
 

How is Elorza Addressing Providence Firefighters' Concerns About Aging Fleet?

GoLocal asked Elorza why there was no mention of the Providence fire department in his speech, after the firefighters union raised the issue of the aging fleet with city officials last week when they said "1/3 of the city's fire trucks are outdated."

"That’s part of our master lease. You’d be surprised when I took over the city how little long term planning there was. So we’ve been working the past several years with the city council putting together this infrastructure capital improvement plan," said Elorza. 

"Now we have a five-year plan. It’s the same thing with our master lease — about six or eight months ago we purchased a brand new fire truck. Much of the replacement of the fleet is underway as part of our master lease planning — it doesn’t happen overnight," he added.

Elorza also addressed the issue of the lack of a fire chief. 

"The Chief’s role has been filled by the Commissioner for a couple of years. There’s two aspects to the fire department. There’s administration and operations. There’s not even a hint on the operations side our fire department isn’t delivering," said Elorza. "On the administrative side, it’s very clear that administratively the department is being run better than it ever has."

Significant Achievements Since Hopkins Report?

In June 2019, Johns Hopkins unveiled a scathing report of Providence schools, calling the culture “broken," before the Rhode Island Department of Education took over Providence schools in the fall.

GoLocal asked Elorza — nearly eight months later — what has been achieved since the report unveiled the schools' deficiencies. 

“Absolutely the most important thing that has been achieved is now there is hope. I’m seeing people who have never been engaged in our school department — at least not in my lifetime — now they’re organizing and getting engaged,” said Elorza. 

“We still have all kinds of challenges…but for the first time in a long time people are feeling optimistic,” he said. 

When Will City Get Schools Back?

GoLocal asked Elorza when he believes the schools will be returned to the control of the city. 

“We’re talking probably a decade or more of work — there’s just so much work that needs to be done,” he said. 

"What we’re focused on is a short, medium, and long term plan and then we have to execute on it," he said. "In order to execute on it, we need to engage the community. We need all the partners at the table. We need to continue to prioritize it. And that’s what everyone is doing."

Continued Opposition to Fane Tower 

Last fall, developer Jason Fane received design approval and applied for a tax stabilization agreement for his proposed $300 million, 46-story project on the former 195 land, which would mark boldest and largest private investment in the City of Providence in more than 20 years, since the construction of the Providence Place Mall in the late 1990s.

GoLocal asked Elorza about his continued opposition to the project. 

“You know what my position is. We’re in a position right now — we’ve had more development in the city of Providence than we’ve had in a generation, basically in anyone’s memory,” said Elorza. 

“We’re in a position where we have to accept every single proposal that comes in. We’re in the position where we can accept only the ones that fit in and make sense for us for the reasons I’ve outlined I don’t think the Fane tower fits in..there are better uses for that space, like a public park.”