James A. Briden, Mayor & At-Large Councilman, Wraps Up Tenure

"If one were to draft a memo describing the current condition of East Providence, the substantive content would show that we have made great progress in recent years and are now in a strong position as a city. This would include, but not be limited to, the following:

1.) To facilitate our new form of government commencing in 2019, the establishment of a Charter Review Commission which resulted in necessary changes to our Charter. This included provisions which are conducive to good planning such as increasing our Capital Reserve Fund from 10 to 12%

2.) Recent Audit Reports stating that our City has implemented "Best Practices" in essentially all areas of financial management and that Standard & Poors upgraded the City’s Bond Rating to "A"

3.) Our current debt level is approximately 35M and our total borrowing capacity is approximately 120M. Our cash reserves exceed 30M

4.) Taxes have been kept down and the modest increases have been far less than forecasted by the 2013 Budget Commission’s Five Year Plan

5.) The groundwork is currently in place for several major commercial and residential development projects

6.) There has been significant capital infrastructure investment which includes our water system and roads and a good working relationship between our Council and School Committee facilitating the future construction of a new high school; and

7.) We have maintained an expanded time horizon by making decisions within the framework of continuously refined multi-year plans

In sum, I believe that we are currently in a strong position as a City and am optimistic about our future.

To the residents, I would like to express my great appreciation for giving me the opportunity to serve in public office in East Providence. It has been an honor. Thank You.

James A. Briden
Mayor & At-Large Councilman