Dear Representatives and Senators:
As a business and/or resident of the City of Cranston, I am sending this letter to ask you to please
1. OPPOSE the supplemental budget plan to take monies away yet again from cities and towns as it will have a particularly devastating impact on services to our member, the City of Cranston; and
2. SUPPORT the municipal budget tools that will help the cities and towns survive in these tough economic times.
As you may have heard, Governor Carcieri’s supplemental budget proposal to the General Assembly recommended the elimination of monies to cities and towns that supported the state’s long-standing promise to all Rhode Islanders to phase out the car tax. This proposal will have a devastating impact to the finances and services provided by our Chamber members.
Under this proposal, the City of Cranston would lose over $6.6 million in the middle to its current budget year. For 2010-2011, it would mean a draconian loss of over $13.2 million.
This proposal already comes on the back of the state eliminating all General Revenue Sharing to the City of Cranston in the current fiscal year, a loss of close to $5 million, and it’s unwillingness to pass necessary municipal reform tools that was supported by the City of Cranston and the League of Cities and Towns.
This supplement budget proposal is unfair and must be stopped now.
