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Our report finds that Rhode Island’s local governments are spending much more than regional and national benchmarks on certain services, particularly public safety, while underinvesting in other important areas,” said RIPEC President and CEO Michael DiBiase
[...]
Public safety functions make up a significant portion—50.0 percent as of FY 2021—of non-education expenditures by Rhode Island municipalities. Spending by Rhode Island local governments on police in FY 2020 ($375 per capita) ranked seventh highest among all states. At the municipal level, several cities and towns had per capita spending more than 20 percent greater than the statewide per capita total. Additionally, local governments in Rhode Island were significant outliers in terms of spending and staffing on fire protection—ranking third among states in spending ($297 per capita) and first among states in firefighter staffing per capita in FY 2020.
While Rhode Island municipalities significantly overspend on public safety relative to other states, RIPEC found a relative lack of resources dedicated to other core services.
Now, I find that Providence is a safe city. There isn't a neighborhood where I don't go, because the whole place is safe. I've advocated as much here for many years based on my experience on the ground here in the city. I generally think the investments in the police are warranted, if a bit expensive, and while the Providence Police are far from perfect, the department is a worthwhile investment.
However, there are certain disreputable posters here who suggest that Providence is unsafe. If that is the case, then the obvious question is, are we getting the "bang for the buck" we're paying for?
RIPEC suggests we could be doing better with our Public Safety Expenditures.
Location: Earth, a nice neighborhood in the Milky Way
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"Municipalities should seek to at least slow the growth of expenditures on police and fire departments and require that departments publish data on calls for service (CFS) annually to make more informed decisions about staffing and budgets. Rhode Island’s municipalities should aim to bring expenditures on public safety more in line with national and regional benchmarks."
Location: Earth, a nice neighborhood in the Milky Way
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Reputation: 1616
"Municipalities should pursue, and the General Assembly should incentivize, consolidation or shared services agreements. Research suggests that consolidation or shared service agreements may be appropriate for Rhode Island’s least-populous municipalities. To make progress in this area, the state should be more aggressive in incentivizing these agreements."
Location: Earth, a nice neighborhood in the Milky Way
3,825 posts, read 2,706,936 times
Reputation: 1616
So as you can see, we are probably spending too much on police and fire.
On a side note: maybe that has something to do with the trolls here, or maybe it doesn’t. But when I make such statements, my primary IP gets blocked from this site (as it was tonight—not the first time) and I have to seek alternate routes to post.
Are you sure it's not due to "other stuff" you are using that computer for?
We're blocking his IP. Must seek alternate routes to post. Tin foil hat time. Gonna have to have holes for the horns though. I just pray that he doesn't delete the post.
Your local South Providence charity pickup "remove" the new one from the back of your Mustang II?
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