After constant clashes with Mayor Smiley, Providence City Council members took an uncanny-looking photo with an equally eyebrow-raising caption. Circulated by the Council, the image depicts several members grinning with the mayor over signing the 2025 budget. The caption claims the recently passed Providence budget “… focused investments in housing, public safety, climate change, and… the most significant increase in funding for Providence Public Schools in at least 15 years!”
However, the unsettling part is that those smiling faces are a facade. The truth is, not only has the full story been forgone, but this budget will stagnate and harm the Providence community.
First, regarding housing funding, it’s important to note that Smiley has previously vetoed affordable housing initiatives. He’s also effectively made homelessness illegal by using substantial resources, so it’s unclear if these monies will be used appropriately. The second mention, “safety,”—primarily the police budget, will see another significant uptick in funding. There has been no word on whether it incorporates medical professionals such as social workers and nurses rather than continued spending on militarization.
Another ignored issue mentioned was climate change. The mayor and Council have been forced to act due to constant flooding, allocating a small amount of funding for a “sewer team” to clear blocked storm drains. This funding fails to implement meaningful climate change action, though the keyword thrown around is “mitigation,” not prevention; further, Smiley’s attacks on transportation by misuse of funds put his climate seriousness and funding management into doubt.
Lastly, the public school funding claim is grossly misleading. Only after the public hounded the Council did they give in to a few extra million, still well under the bare minimum amount for schools to operate in any meaningful capacity. In turn, teachers will likely continue to be required to teach in 110-degree classrooms without air conditioning, be severely underpaid, and have no job security as their positions are continually cut.
The Council should have denied the budget until a reasonable one was put together. Instead, it was hastily pushed through with little care for their constituent’s needs. Afterward, council members celebrated with Smiley, aligning themselves with someone who has become locally notorious for setting Providence behind. How any council member with good intentions poses with the mayor and approves this budget in the first place shows a lack of accountability and care.