Leaner, smarter and stronger. That is our mantra at City Hall.

It is not a new initiative or some gimmicky management concept. It is just a new way of talking about our fundamentally different approach to managing city finances and delivering services. It is a way for all of us to think about how we can accelerate this transformation not just every year at budget time, but every day and as part of every major decision. How can we be more creative? How can we be more entrepreneurial? How can we do more with less?

This legislative season, we are asking the General Assembly for new tools to help make Providence leaner, smarter and stronger. The package includes a measure to modernize Providence’s financing arrangements in order to capture new savings, the authorization to make seed investments to stimulate economic development, and a variety of bills designed to overhaul outdated or inefficient practices. A signature piece of that strategy is a bill that would offer cities and tow ns greater flexibility to raise revenue by decoupling the residential and commercial property tax rates. This legislation has generated interest and concern from the business community, and bears further exploration.

There is no cause for anxiety. Owners of commercial property can rest assured that the overall commercial tax burden will not go up as a result of this measure. In fact, the commercial tax rate will go down. The intent of this legislation is to maintain the current tax burden relationship that has existed for years between commercial and residential property – not to change it.

Since the commercial and residential property markets are fundamentally different, common sense dictates that their tax rates should not be bound together. But what makes this issue especially pressing is the citywide boom in property values. The recent revaluation proved that the market embraced all Providence property, but residential values went up at a significantly higher proportion. By decoupling the rates and lowering each in proportion to their bump in value, we can retain the balance and stabilize the tax burden of all property owners.

While we are doing everything we can to stabilize taxes in the short term, the goal is to lower them. A key part of our do-more-with-less approach is an aggressive effort to expand the tax base, and we have made great strides on this front. Last year, we were thrilled to see Providence – not traditionally known as a business-friendly city – appear in the top fifty on Forbes magazine’s “Best Places for Business” list. This year we jumped even higher. And it is borne out in the real world. Providence is experiencing a wave of investment unlike anything it has seen in a century. We created the Providence Economic Development Partnership to sustain and shape this growth for the good of the whole city.

This legislative package also contains legislation targeted to this goal of growing the tax base. For instance, one bill would authorize a study of how we can develop a metropolitan transportation system that would improve traffic flow and parking downtown. Another would create a Providence Waterfront Development District modeled after East Providence’s. It would consolidate the powers of various agencies and make it easier for developers to invest in cleanup and construction, opening up the potential for millions in investment.

Passing this package is a major priority for my office and, with the backing of the extremely hard-working and effective Providence delegation, we are cautiously optimistic. This package is both pro-business and pro-resident, as one side’s benefit does not have to come at the expense of the other. It is a creative and entrepreneurial package that reflects our approach to city government. I urge you to contact your Senator and Representative. Tell them you want to help make Providence leaner, smarter and stronger. - DNC