Providence City Council Launches Its Own Media Platform as City Faces Financial Crisis

Providence City Council Launches Its Own Media Platform as City Faces Financial Crisis

There has not been much good news coming out of Providence City Hall recently. Underfunding of schools, a financial crisis, and a tax increase of more than 4% were all unveiled in the past couple of weeks.

So, if you don’t like the media coverage, use tax dollars to launch your own media platform. 

On Tuesday, the Providence City Council announced launching its own video and blog platforms — “The monthly video series will feature Councilors discussing important initiatives and policies.”

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Further, the City Council announced, “The Council blog will serve as a hub for updates, stories highlighting community leaders, and insights into the Council’s priorities. The first post dives into how the Council is tackling historic sound and acoustic issues in the Council Chamber.”

This new initiative came less than two weeks after Providence Mayor Brett Smiley announced that the city’s finances were in such dire straights that he would ask the Rhode Island General Assembly to lift the 4% cap so that the city could increase taxes.

While Smiley said the city was issuing a hiring freeze and instituting additional cost-cutting measures, the council is launching its PR machine.

The City Council claims the new media Initiative has no additional cost to taxpayers.

Presently, the part-time city council has two full-time communications staffers—the communications director is paid a salary of $103,929, and the secretary an additional $72,453. This does not include benefits and pension payments. The total cost of the public relations department for the council for salaries, benefits, and equipment is approximately $250,000.

GoLocal asked the City Council's communications director, Joshua Speiser, the following questions:

How are these new initiatives being staffed?

Is there a budget?

How would you answer the question that this seems political -- a bit like a state-sponsored media for the city council?

Speiser said that there was no cost for the new program but failed to explain and did not answer the other questions.

And when pressed on how a new initiative could have no cost, Speiser wrote, "I am looping in City Council Chief of Staff June Rose (cc'd on this message) who can provide some additional context here."
 

After back and forth and GoLocal raising if the Council instead of launching new initiatives during a financial crisis, the City Council should be looking for cost savings to minimize the tax increase on homeowners and renters, Rose wrote in an email to GoLocal, "City Council should not cut their communications team whose role it is to share with the community the work of Council. Cutting the folks who help promote our meetings and work with the media would both not be in the best interest of the city and have no bearing on taxes. It is a positive thing for a governmental body to share the work it's doing publicly (a la "Democracy Dies in Darkness"), and I promise the 3:08 long video of Councilor AnderBois will not negatively impact any other aspects of Council staff's work."

"Cycling in new projects and out old projects is a normal part of any workplace, as we're constantly seeking to both be more efficient and put out the best work product. As you know, having a part-time Council makes it all the more important we have an active, hardworking staff. We're working hard to help councilors share their legislative and ward-based efforts, including by putting it on the website and social media," said Rose.

"Of course, I agree with you the city should be looking for savings (Council is voting on Thursday for the second time to move $4.5 million in ARPA money, part of the work that will avoid a mid-year tax increase despite the settlement, which would have been terrible). Having a monthly blog and video series has nothing to do with a tax increase, though. That's a separate conversation," added Rose.