Rhode Island quasi-state agencies critical of Raimondo budget 'scoops'

PROVIDENCE — The leaders of Rhode Island’s quasi-state agencies warned of higher trash fees, a reduction in down payment help for first-time homebuyers and fewer local infrastructure projects if nearly $24 million is taken from their coffers as proposed by Gov. Gina Raimondo’s budget.

Members of the Senate Finance Committee were unimpressed by the proposed budget “scoops,” and, in what is becoming an annual rite, admonished the Raimondo administration for plugging holes in the state’s $9.9 billion budget with one-time cash.

“It seems like we are heading down a black hole with these scoops,” said Sen. Walter Felag, D-Bristol, who has introduced a bill banning the use of transfers from quasi-state agencies.

Over this year and next, the budget transfers would hit eight quasi-state agencies, ranging from the corporation that runs the Central Landfill to Rhode Island Housing, the Quonset Development Corporation and the infrastructure bank that helps finance municipal projects.

Read more: https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20190205/ri-quasi-state-agencies-critical-of-raimondo-budget-scoops