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Carlene, you might want to read up on this issue a bit more if that is your understanding of what's taken place. Scott Avedisian didn't kick the can down the road for the City of Warwick, he shot it out of a rocket launcher and never looked back. Now our city is left to fix the mess he helped create and never bothered to address. Your taxes are being raised to help pay for Scott Avedisian's mistakes as Mayor. Bottom line. Mayor Solomon is not exempt and I certainly don't agree with everything he's done, but this problem didn't start with him and it's an unfair characterization to say it did. Your comment is precisely what's been wrong with our city for the last 2 decades. Everybody was too busy praising Scott Avedisian for a "job well done" because he walked in a few parades and ate chowder and clamcakes at a Senior Center. Nobody bothered to ask or even look into whether or not he was doing nearly as good of a job as he, or the Beacon said he was.

These problems didn't happen overnight. They're not going to be fixed overnight either. Every public servant in this city needs to be given a fair contract with a reasonable wage, health care and retirement benefits that taxpayers CAN AFFORD. Without that we are never crawling out of this whole. Ever. Councilman Merolla has stated the city would rather pay OT to the WFD than hire new employees and pay their wages and benefits. Is this something that could be used across EVERY department city wide and not just WFD alone? Why limit this approach to just the WFD? They are certainly not the only public servants working OT, so why are they the only Department who seems to get criticized for it? It might be worth looking into increasing overtime budgets in all city wide departments while reducing the overall payroll of the city, especially as pensions and retiree health care are becoming a bigger problem for the city ($280+ million OPEB with $0 currently budgeted to pay for it).

PS: It's time to stop playing politics with our students. This game of political football is unproductive. Karen Bachus is a liar. When the teachers didn't have a contract she was the loudest advocate they had, excusing their "sickouts" and grandstanding at every School Committee meeting. Now Karen is "shocked, just shocked I tell you" that of the $7 million hole, over $4 million is tied directly to employee wages. So remember when the money comes in and NONE of these activities are cut, just remember that Fear Mongering Fraud Karen Bachus and her strong advocacy for the teachers over the students.

SHAME ON YOU, KAREN!!!