Raimondo spotlights successes, challenges

By Kelcy Dolan
Posted 6/30/16

With the budget approved and the legislative session at an end, Governor Gina Raimondo sat down with Beacon reporters Tuesday to discuss the state of Rhode Island and what to expect moving forward. …

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Raimondo spotlights successes, challenges

Posted

With the budget approved and the legislative session at an end, Governor Gina Raimondo sat down with Beacon reporters Tuesday to discuss the state of Rhode Island and what to expect moving forward. Covering a slew of topics, including the airport, the Department of Transportation (DOT), and tolls among other things, Raimondo said the state is moving forward, but there is still work to do.

Concerning the budget Raimondo was “by and large” content with the outcome. She was happy to see taxes on unemployment reduced, support for the Wave Maker Fellowship Program, a loan forgiveness program for local graduates in STEAM fields, as well as more funding directed towards full day kindergarten and pre-kindergarten programs.

Also a big feature in Raimondo’s proposed budget was funding for English Language Learners. Rhode Island was one of only 4 states in the country that didn’t have a separate funding stream, despite English language learners being the fastest growing demographic in public schools. Over $2.5 million, which will be “tied to best practices”, was allotted to a separate funding stream for these programs.

The General Assembly also approved $1.5 million in the budget to use as incentive for new airline routes at T.F. Green Airport. Raimondo explained that it can be very expensive for an airline to establish a new route, and many other states have used a model of subsidizing the routes for a brief period of time as airlines get up and going in a new area.

She said business owners give her feedback that they love Rhode Island and the airport, but would like to see more convenient flights.

“There have been a lot of airlines circling us for some time now and we are hoping that with this passing in the budget it will push them over the finish line,” Raimondo said.

Although there were many initiatives Raimondo was excited were supported there were others she was disappointed in seeing left behind, such as an increase in the minimum wage to $10.10, as well as additional funding, in a $45 million bond, for the School Building Authority to be put towards repairing buildings and infrastructure of public schools.

One aspect of her proposal, Raimondo wanted to see move forward, but unfortunately did not receive support, was to set aside money in the budget to reform the state’s criminal justice and probation system. The initiative had support from both federal judges and chief justices, as Rhode Island is an “outlier” in terms of how many people are on probation and the length they remain on probation.

Raimondo said, “A lot of that system wasn’t fair and we wanted to make improvements. It passed in the Senate, but not in the house which is too bad.”

Even if Raimondo didn’t get the funding, she did name 8 new judges to various courts across the state. To make a more fair process she stressed that application focused on “what you know, and not whom you know.” She wanted talented candidates with a breadth of experience and credentials who could do the job on day one” and hit the ground running in their new positions.

“I wanted there to be more confidence in the system and that it you were qualified you had a fair shot at the job,” Raimondo said.

Alongside new faces in the judicial system, Raimondo said there are also new faces in DOT thanks a restructuring of the department.

Most importantly, in the restructuring the department is being made more accountable, with every single project budgeted separately, with a single individual in charge of ensuring projects are done not only on time, but on budget.

Although it may sound like a basic change, Raimondo explained that this is the first time something like this has been implemented and previously the process was much more “haphazard” and the state was losing money for it.

“We are already seeing improvements in the system there are more financial controls, policies and protocols to be followed,” Raimondo said. “It is more important than ever with the new projects in the state’s infrastructure that money is spent properly.”

One project in particular is the tolling gantries. Although work is “underway” Raimondo doesn’t expect the first gantry to be erected for another year and a half. The state is still awaiting a memorandum of understanding (MOU) from the federal government, but Raimondo assured the program has a lot of support and the state is “close” to receiving the MOU.

Raimondo also spotlighted General Electric’s announcement to establish a Digital information technology center in Rhode Island, creating 100 jobs in high tech jobs, and potentially more over the next several years.

Raimondo said that for far too long Rhode Island has been reliant on fading and declining industries and to see long-term economic improvement, “we need to position the state in industries of growth, such as science and technology. We need to swim in the stream of growth and find our little gold mine to dig.”

The Governor has been spending more time “out and about” with people, traveling around the state to hear the concerns of citizens and to see for herself “what matters to people most.”

“What affects people most? Frustrating departments of government, traffic and bad roads,” Raimondo said. “We are trying to fix these things to make a real difference in people’s lives.”

Comments

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  • FASTFREDWARD4

    How nice she match her outfit with the chair she sitting in. Half in the sun light. Thank god she has black hair. Who is handling her should be fired.

    Thursday, June 30, 2016 Report this

  • RISchadenfreude

    The sooner this partisan hack, beholden to her investment group friends, is gone, the better.

    Like Obama, she's another example of Minority Group Guilt winning her the election; that, and the lack of a State Constitutional provision for runoff elections.

    Tuesday, July 5, 2016 Report this

  • markyc

    The good news: GE is opening a center in RI

    Governor Gina is " out & about"; she's out & about alright-holding fundraisers in California & New York & planning on a position in some national office if Hillary is elected. MOU with federal government-likely, however it's unlikely RI can obtain exemptions on certain class trucks & passenger cars(most States charge cars AND trucks; I don't see how RI can bypass this). Plus, back in February there was this immediate need for toll gantries & the related revenue to fix bridges; a year & a half? That's the problem with RI-government takes TOO LONG! What is occurring is NOT game changing-RI still has bad roads & bridges. Educationally, RI is too far behind. As far as the airport goes, there is no airport in New England that can compete with Logan; Green, Bradley, & Manchester are competing for the regional air traffic. As far as direct flights, the market is limited & whichever airport can provide airlines with the most full seats at a reasonable price for the airlines will receive the business.

    Tuesday, July 5, 2016 Report this