Election Preview 2018: RI Ballot Questions

NARRAGANSETT, RI — Voters in the upcoming Nov. 6 election will make a decision about three statewide ballot questions costing taxpayers half a billion dollars when fees and interest rates are included. The financial assumptions are that interest rates will be five percent; the bonds will be repaid over 20 years, and costs of issuing them will be 0.4 percent of the issue amount, according to the Rhode Island Secretary of State's Voter Information Handbook.

The three statewide ballot questions ask voters to okay issuing bonds for $250 million for Rhode Island School Buildings; $70 million for new construction at the University of Rhode Island's campus and for renovations to Rhode Island College's Horace Mann Hall; and $47.3 million for Green Economy and Clean Water Bonds. Those figures are just the principal and do not include interest and the costs of issuing the bonds. The total costs of all three come to almost $590 million.

Question 1: School Buildings Bond

Gov. Gina Raimondo and General Treasurer Seth Magaziner are advocating for Question 1, the school bond.

On the ballot it will appear as 'Question 1: To provide state assistance to cities and towns for the
construction of new public schools and renovation of existing public schools.'

The Handbook includes an explanation. It says the bonds "will be used to improve Pre-K-12 public school facilities and equip them for 21st century learning." The money will become available in 2019. Although every district can apply, to qualify for the money the projects must "address immediate health and safety needs, early childhood education, career and technical education, and other educational enhancements."

Adding interest of $151,212,936, the total comes to $401,212,936.

The handbook does not include information about the impact on taxpayers. The secretary of state's office referred those questions to Treasurer Seth Magaziner. Evan England, spokesman for Magaziner, said it's difficult to estimate how the bonds would affect the individual's tax bill, although the treasurer does know the impact to the state debt. The hope is, the individual would not see a tax increase, he said, and that's because the state is also retiring more than a billion in old debt. It's possible the individual's tax burden might decrease slightly.

England agrees with critics who say Rhode Island is carrying too much debt. However, $1.5 billion in old debt is being retired soon. Given that scenario, he said, this $250 million school bond is affordable.

"We ran a comprehensive debt affordability study," he said. The study included the state, the local cities and towns, and agencies (such as Resource Recovery). The conclusion? Cut the debt by $300 million. And don't take on more than $1.2 billion over the next 10 years. Counting the $1.5 billion that's coming off the books soon, he said, this school bond is well below the spending limit. In fact, a second $250 million school bond (that's been floated for four years in the future) also would be within the limit, he said.

Also, although Rhode Island currently spends $80 million every year on school buildings, the maintenance problems continue growing by $70 million annually. England said the total costs will be higher, if the bond doesn't pass.

England said many people have complained that their local school departments, school committees and town officials have failed to maintain the school buildings. However, the state is changing the rules so that the local communities will be required to take care of the buildings. If they fail, the state will pay the maintenance money and subtract it from their state aid for construction.

The bond question was developed after the state education department produced a consultant's report assessing school buildings statewide. The Rhode Island Schoolhouse Report gave "every district a failing" grade and estimated the price of making schools safe, warm and dry at more than $627 million. Plus, the report proposed additional money bringing the total over $2 billion. After that report went public, Raimondo formed a task force headed up by Magaziner and state education Commissioner Ken Wagner. The group included school officials, union leaders, construction experts and others hoping to figure out a plan to fix the schools and how to pay for it.

According to the education department's website, the task force included Michael DiBiase, School Building Authority Advisory Board; state Sen. Hannah Gallo, of Cranston; Jamestown Town Administrator Andy Nota, representing the League of Cities and Towns; Joseph Dewhirst, chairman, Rhode Island Health and Education Building Corporation; Michael Sabitoni, president, RI Building and Construction Trades Council and Business Manager, Laborers Local 271; Frank Flynn, president, Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals; Larry Purtill, president, National Education Association of Rhode Island and Member, Council of Elementary and Secondary Education; Kinzel Thomas, Providence School Board, on behalf of the RI Association of School Committees; Chariho Supt. Barry Ricci, representing the state superintendents association; Patricia Flanagan, M.D., Pediatrician-in-Chief at Hasbro Children’s Hospital and professor of pediatrics at Brown Medical School; Neil Steinberg, president, Rhode Island Foundation; John Hazen White, Jr., president & CEO, Taco, Inc.; and Elizabeth Burke Bryant, executive director, Rhode Island KIDS COUNT.

Few voices have spoken up against the ballot question.

"Of course, no one wants unsafe schools," said Mike Stenhouse, of the RI Center for Freedom and Prosperity. But his organization may issue a statement saying it opposes all three ballot questions because they will add millions to the state's already hefty debt.

"Rhode Island has one of the worst debt to income ratios in the whole country," he said, and these three bonds would make it worse.

Stenhouse cited two problems with the school spending bond. First, the taxpayers have already paid for school maintenance, and now they're being asked to pay again to bail out the negligence of local officials who spent the school maintenance money for other purposes.

"We've got to stop bailing out incompetent lawmakers," he said.

Second, these buildings are expected to last 30 to 50 years. But what should these classrooms of the future look like?

"We're proposing spending $250 million" and another $250 million in addition to the $500 million already in the school improvement fund. Is the money going to build schools that will be obsolete in a few years?

Mayor Allan Fung, who is running for governor as the Republican candidate, has expressed some concerns that the districts will not have an equal opportunity to win funding. Although he supports the bond, he wants to make sure Providence does not grab all the money, he has said.

As for Questions 2 and 3, both are "not necessary, frivolous," Stenhouse said.

Question 2: Higher Education Facilities Bond Measure

This question would provide split money between URI and RIC. Some $45 million would go for the University of Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay Campus to "design, renovate, and construct new facilities and infrastructure including a new Ocean Technology Center building to support the evolving educational and research needs at the Graduate School of Oceanography, the College of Engineering, and the College of Environment and Life Sciences." The other $25 million would be spent to redo Horace Mann Hall at Rhode Island College "to address significant deferred maintenance issues."

Interest (using the same assumptions of a five percent rate over 20 years) will add $42,339,622 for a total of $112,339,622.

Question 3: Green Economy and Clean Water Bonds

The final bond question would earmark $47 million for environmental projects. The principal of $47.3 million plus $28.6 million interest would bring the total cost to almost $76 million. The money would be used for several projects. Here are the details, according to the handbook:

"Specifically, approval of this question will provide:
(a) $5,000,000 for up to 75 percent matching grants to restore and/or improve the climate resilience of vulnerable coastal habitats and river and stream floodplains. Projects to be funded under this program would improve access and public safety in the face of increased flooding, major storm events, and environmental degradation.

(b) $7,900,000 for investment in the Clean and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRFs) to improve the environmental quality of our State’s water. These funds will be used for, but not necessarily be limited to, drinking water and wastewater treatment upgrades, stormwater quality improvements, combined sewer overflow abatement projects, and water distribution system improvements.

(c) $5,000,000 for up to 50 percent matching grants to help ensure water quality by protecting wastewater infrastructure from the impacts of flooding and major storm events.

(d) $4,400,000 for the repair and/or removal of state owned dams that are aging and in an unsafe condition.

(e) $7,000,000 for dredging sections of the Providence River, the Woonasquatucket River, and the Moshassuck River in the vicinity of downtown Providence and Waterplace Park for purposes of economic development, infrastructure maintenance, enhanced tourism opportunities, and improved water depths for boating, recreation, and climate resiliency.

(f) $5,000,000 for the State to design, repair and construct bikeways. Projects to be funded under this program would include high priority bikeway connections, including the East Bay Bike Path.

(g) $4,000,000 for the cleanup of former industrial or commercial “brownfield” sites that may be contaminated byhazardous waste or other environmental pollution. Provides up to 80 percent matching grants to public, private, and/or non-profit entities for brownfield remediation projects.

(h) $5,000,000 for up to 80 percent in matching grants to municipalities to develop or rehabilitate local public recreational facilities such as parks, playgrounds, and athletic fields, and up to 50 percent in matching grants to municipalities to acquire land for public recreational facilities.

(i) $2,000,000 for the State to help protect Rhode Island’s working farms through the State Farmland Access Program and the Agricultural Lands Preservation Commission.

(j) $2,000,000 for up to 50 percent in matching grants to municipalities, local land trusts and non-profit organizations to purchase, acquire development rights, or conservation easements on open space lands in Rhode Island."

The projects would start in 2020 (fiscal year) and end in 2025.

In addition, 18 cities and towns will also see local ballot questions. The communities are Barrington, Central Falls, Coventry, Cranston, Cumberland, East Providence, Jamestown, Little Compton, Middletown, North Kingstown, North Smithfield, Pawtucket, Providence, Smithfield, Tiverton, Warren, Warwick and Westerly. Not all of these carry financial impact, however. The questions range from multi-million school construction projects in East Providence and North Kingstown to a possible change in elected officials' terms (in North Kingstown) where the voters will be polled about electing town councilors every four years, instead of every two years. Local ballot questions for each community can be found on the secretary of state's website.

According to Ballotpedia, Rhode Island is already carrying $1.33 billion debt (as of 2017) from general obligation bonds and voters seldom have defeated these ballot questions. The last time one went down was in 2006 when a $4 million plan for improvements at Fort Adams. Ballotpedia also says the reading level required for the 2017 ballot Rhode Island questions assumed graduate-school level (20 years of formal education).

Staff Photo Margo Sullivan