Warwick State Representative Al Gemma (D-Dist. 20) is proposing to lift several of the unfunded mandates on cities and towns.

“With the sharp reduction in state aid to cities and towns, it would be unconscionable for the legislature not to rescind many of the unfunded mandates it has imposed over the years,” said Gemma yesterday.

Gemma, a former member of the Warwick City Council, said it’s unfair for the state to impose “feel good” mandates on communities, fail to pay for them, and take the credit.

“From my experience on the council, they tell you what to do, but when the council asks them for the money they say no. Well, that’s not too good,” said Gemma.

Gemma has received a list of mandates from Warwick officials that details a savings of the removal of the state mandates are hard to estimate due to the fluid nature of many of them, but the numbers are into the millions.

One particular Department of Environmental (DEM) Mandate, which will force the Warwick Sewer Authority (WSA) to upgrade its treatment plant this year, would cost Warwick residents $14 million. The cost would not affect the city budget, but the WSA ratepayers, which finance the WSA and are obviously residents and business owners in the city.

Warwick City Council President Bruce Place (Ward-2) said that the removal of that particular mandate, which he believes would put unnecessary strain on the WSA ratepayers, is his top priority.

Representative Joseph McNamara (D-Warwick, Cranston) said Thursday that he’s confident a bill he submitted that would put off the upgrade for at least five years would garner passage.

“I’m always optimistic,” said McNamara.

Gemma has a list, broken down by city department, of mandates he’d like to see lifted.

In the police department, Gemma would remove the mandates to reimburse police officers involved in law enforcement associate/bachelor’s degree programs (saving $20,000), fingerprinting costs for certain public service jobs (saving $23,000) and health benefits for parental leave (costing $283 per week of leave per employee).

In the public works department, Gemma would repeal mandates to implement storm water pollution and to monitor the drainage system. There is also a mandate forcing the city to achieve 35 percent recycling by 2012. The city is at 20-25 percent now, and doesn’t have a plan yet to achieve the 35-percent rate. The DPW estimates that removing those mandates could save $320,000.

The Parks and Recreation Department could save $2,500 if the mandate to test the water during the summer was lifted.

The personnel department could save “hundreds of thousands” of dollars if the state removed mandates: to pay 66 pecent of a person’s disability pension for a person disabled on the job, for all public safety employees pension survivors to receive 67.5 percent of a retiree’s pension, free college education for public safety disabled retirees, their children and their spouses, education incentive programs for police officers and requirements that municipalities offer municipal employees term life insurance.

The school department could benefit from the removal of mandates: to publish school committee agendas in newspapers, advertisements, compensate educators for training and professional development, transportation to charter schools even when public schools are not in session and for school bus monitors.

Mayor Scott Avedisian said yesterday that he’d like communities to have more control over what they feel needs to be done.

“I would support removing all of [the mandates]. If our City Council decides that they would like to require the city to offer some of these programs, we could discuss them during budget time,” said Avedisian.