Cushman to give analysis on city finances

John Howell
Posted 11/20/14

Former Ward 1 Councilman Robert Cushman, who also served on the school committee, will have an hour to define what he sees as disturbing trends to the City Council.

On Monday, the City Council …

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Cushman to give analysis on city finances

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Former Ward 1 Councilman Robert Cushman, who also served on the school committee, will have an hour to define what he sees as disturbing trends to the City Council.

On Monday, the City Council voted 5-2 to have Cushman look at the budgets of the past 10 years and offer his analysis. President Donna Travis and Ward 3 Councilwoman Camille Vella-Wilkinson were the dissenting votes.

On the following day, Ward 5 Councilman Ed Ladouceur asked for a reconsideration of the vote. Then, yesterday after talking with his campaign manager, Ladouceur had second thoughts and asked to have his request for reconsideration withdrawn.

Ladouceur explained he asked for reconsideration because he thought the matter is of such importance that Ward 1 Councilman Steve Colantuono and Ward 7 Councilman Charles Donovan Jr. should have the opportunity to vote. On second thought, Ladouceur questioned whether he was setting a precedent to have other vote reconsidered whenever a council member was absent.

Before his change of heart, Cushman accused Ladouceur of being a “hypocrite,” asking if he is so concerned about including all the council members, why he isn’t also pressing for a re-vote on the confirmation of Catherine King Avila as council auditor. (See separate story in this edition.)

“I thought Councilman Ladouceur was better than that. Politics to me is about honor and doing the right thing and not wheeling and dealing behind the scenes. This reasoning is totally illogical,” Cushman said.

He speculated the request for reconsideration might have something to do with the contest for council president. Ladouceur has expressed an interest in the position. Donna Travis has said she is looking to be re-elected to the post.

“Wheeling and dealing has nothing to do with it,” Ladouceur said yesterday. “My job is to do the best I can for the people I represent,” he added.

Cushman, who regularly attends council meetings, has long warned about the impact of legacy costs – pensions and health care for retirees – on taxes and the city’s ability to address capital projects, including renovating schools or new schools, other municipal facilities and road repairs.

Stacia Petri picked up his charts and graphs in her campaign for the Republican nomination for mayor, using them to bolster her claim that the city faces nearly $1 billion in unfunded liabilities and debt.

But Cushman said Monday that his analysis isn’t politically motivated and his effort will focus on the data. He said his goal is to provide the council and the administration with an overview of where the city has been and trends so they have tools for drafting future budgets.

“I hope they listen and ask why it has changed,” Cushman said, following the vote.

But there was some question whether the Council was ready to hear what Cushman had to say.

Ward 9 Councilman Steve Merolla, who introduced the resolution calling for Cushman’s presentation, noted that it would be for informational purposes. There wouldn’t be any votes and, as he put it, Cushman would be analyzing “the health of the city.”

Merolla feels this would be beneficial, pointing out, “We’re running surplus and every year we’re voting on tax increases.”

In speaking earlier in the evening before the intergovernmental committee, Cushman picked budget allocations for road repairs as an example of a trend. He said the budget for repaving 10 years ago was almost $1 million has been consistently cut and now a $5 million bond issue is being considered that will cost $8 million over the 20-year life of the bond.

Cushman, who has a master’s degree in business administration from Bryant University, spoke about his work as a business analyst for CVS Health. He described how he performed an analysis of the company’s distribution centers with the goal of projecting outcomes depending on changes made to stores they served.

He said city actuarial reports don’t look at trends and the municipal budget is limited to the current year.

Travis was concerned that permitting Cushman to make a presentation would open the door to others claiming to have expertise on issues relevant to the city. It was a precedent she preferred not to set.

Vella-Wilkinson was for limiting the presentation to the 15 minutes of open microphone she sponsored as a means of giving the public a voice before the council once a month. She feared “misinformation” might create panic. She said, “The question becomes how to manipulate those numbers going forward.”

Ed Ladouceur doesn’t believe Cushman would manipulate the numbers and suggested if the council questions the presentation that it seek an independent appraisal of it from the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council. If useful, Ladouceur thought what Cushman is doing “is a process we should be doing year after year.”

“I don’t think it would hurt to listen to the presentation,” said Ward 4 Councilman Joseph Solomon. “More knowledge is never too much.”

Offering a compromise, Ward 8 Councilman Joseph Gallucci suggested limiting the presentation to an hour. The suggestion seemed to address reservations.

“What are we scared of?” asked Merolla. “Looking in the mirror?”

Following the vote, and faced with Dec. 15 as the night for his presentation, Cushman said he had better get busy looking over a decade of data. According to the resolution, Cushman will be given 45 minutes for his presentation, followed by 15 minutes for questions from the council.

Comments

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  • allent

    whoa, this guy takes no prisoners.

    Eyes wide open soon

    Friday, November 21, 2014 Report this

  • warwickguy

    Ladouceur is like the Cranston Mayor Fungus... hes a media whore and will do anything and everything for attention and to be noticed. He truly is obnoxious on many levels but still not nearly as bad as Cushman. This guy just wont stop he loves the attention more than Fungus and Ladouceur combined. The best way to deal with people like this is just like the way you would deal with a attention drama filled child, ignore them and eventually they will change their ways or move on.

    Friday, November 21, 2014 Report this

  • Reality

    Eddie is quite a character.....first he is for Bob Cushman appearing before council......then Eddie is against it.......then Eddie is for it.....Eddie talks with his campaign manager and he changes his mind.......Eddie is certainly an independent thinker......would you take his word for anything ?

    Saturday, November 22, 2014 Report this