Woonsocket is facing a $10 million deficit with few options to fill the hole. What do you think will ultimately happen?
Woonsocket is facing a $10 million fiscal hole with limited options for filling it. The crisis is so bad that on Monday Mayor Leo Fontaine raised the spectre of bankruptcy. "I cannot overstate the dire circumstances we face here," Fontaine told the City Council Monday. "Obviously this number is devastating ... Bankruptcy certainly is on the table at this point." Gov. Lincoln Chafee attended Monday's council meeting, branding Woonsocket as one of the "Big Four" municipalities — joining Providence, Pawtucket and West Warwick — facing the possibility of bankruptcy and state takeover. Central Falls already went that route last year. The news of the city's fiscal crisis has sparked a round of speculation among residents: Will taxes skyrocket …
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Woonsocket City Hall
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The Braver Group provides final audit of the City of Woonsocket for 2011.
The final figures are in, and while deficit spending in education has placed Woonsocket in a precarious financial position, there may still be some positive news to take away from the city's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. According to the audit provided by Braver PC, the Woonsocket Education Department (WED) overspent by $2.7 million during 2011 and the City General Fund finished the year with a $550,000 surplus, resulting in a total deficit of more than $2.1 million. The final report was sent to Finance Director Thomas Bruce Tuesday afternoon, and was filed with the national repository and forwarded to investment groups, ratings agencies and the state auditor general this morning. It can be viewed in its entirety on the City of …
42.00287
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Woonsocket City Hall
169 Main St, Woonsocket, RI
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Govstench
9:20 am on Sunday, March 11, 2012
This city needs to go through a structured receivership and get their books balanced. Some services will need to be cut, the duplicity in government will need to be consolidated. The key thing that taxpayers have to accept is that it is too expensive to maintain control over services. Services must be consolidated with other municipalities to make them more affordable. The retirees will need to … more ›