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David Cicilline inherited a $59 million budget shortfall and a workforce whose morale had been eroded by corruption at the highest levels of government. Under Mayor Cicilline's leadership, fiscal integrity has been restored and city employees are hired and promoted based upon their performance, not their political loyalty. As a result, City Government is modernized, more efficient, and doing more with less.
The Mayor abolished the old model of a politicized central authority, replacing it with a professional approach that focuses on the customer. He has made government more transparent and predictable, believing that cold-eyed self-assessment is just as important in government as it is in business. This new approach to City Government has won the trust of the investment community, with over $3 billion in completed or scheduled development since 2003.
- Mayor David Cicilline trimmed a bloated city government by 425 jobs in his first 24 months, including 14% of the City's management positions and 7% of the total workforce.
- Mayor Cicilline negotiated historic, 21st-Century contracts that are fair to city workers and to taxpayers with first-ever healthcare co-pays.
- Cut the rise in health care costs by 60%
- Improved management flexibility for increased efficiency
- More affordable pension provisions
- Mayor Cicilline implemented ProvStat, a computerized tool that tracks the performance of City departments and holds them accountable to their yearly goals.
- Example: the Parks Department used ProvStat data to completely reorganize its park maintenance strategy, resulting in a doubling of productivity with 25% less staff.
- Longstanding backlogs were eliminated for zoning approval, tax appeals, building inspection, city tree service and much more.
- Mayor Cicilline has modernized City Government, transforming long-outdated, paper-and-file-cabinet systems into efficient, computer-based processes.
- Lawson payroll software, Aegis public safety software, Task Tracker at Inspection and Standards, Govern for business licenses, VR2000 at Vital Statistics, electronic legal document recording system at Recorder of Deeds.
- New tools on The City's web site, www.providenceri.com: tax payment, ticket payment, access to property records and tax assessment data, and Providence Connects employment system.
- Mayor Cicilline forged the first-ever voluntary payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with the private colleges and universities in Providence.
- Contributions from the City's non-profit colleges and universities will account for $50 million to the City's general fund over 20 years.
- Mayor Cicilline's fiscal reforms have resulted in improved bond ratings from Standard & Poor's, Fitch, and Moody's
- Mayor Cicilline removed an expensive burden from the backs of Providence taxpayers by selling the Dunkin' Donuts Center, a statewide asset, to the state.
- City receives $28.5 million
- Taxpayers saved an additional $1 million a year approximately in maintenance costs
- Now, $65 million in renovations will be shared by all state taxpayers
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