Governor throws RIPTA riders under the bus
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Governor Daniel McKee sent
a letter to the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA)
Board of Directors that is one of the most hypocritical public statements I
have seen during my time in the State House.
In this letter, the governor says he recommended an
additional $15 million in state funds to help fund RIPTA this year and that his
administration provided $15 million in federal pandemic relief funds for RIPTA
last year.
The facts say otherwise. Governor McKee’s proposed budget
this year included zero dollars of additional funding for RIPTA. The $15
million that RIPTA is receiving was added by the legislature, not the governor.
If Governor McKee thought it was important, he should have included it in his
budget.
Furthermore, in the 27 amendments the governor submitted to
his budget during this year’s legislative session, not a single one addressed
funding for RIPTA.
Last year was a similar story in revisionist political
history. The governor actually allocated $10 million in pandemic funds in his
proposed budget. The General Assembly added an additional $5
million to avoid service cuts, bringing us to the $15 million total he now
attempts to take complete credit for.
As a member of the General Assembly, I’m proud that we’ve
stood up for RIPTA when our governor has not, and that the funding we provided
this year is not from one-time funds and will continue to provide revenue for
RIPTA in future years. I’m particularly proud that, as part of this year’s
funding, the legislature included protections to ensure that the RIde
Anywhere program, which provides door-to-door transportation for
people with disabilities, cannot be cut.
For two years running, Governor McKee has left RIPTA in the
lurch and relied on the General Assembly to find the money to keep this
important lifeline running. Now, he’s taking credit for our accomplishments and
casting himself as a champion of a public transit agency he habitually
underfunds.
In his letter, the governor also says he has a duty to every taxpayer footing the bill for RIPTA. I only wish he had similar discipline across all the departments he oversees.
As we learned last week, taxpayers have already spent $6.8
million to keep tow trucks idling on the Washington Bridge, up from
the $2 million originally budgeted by the Rhode Island Department of
Transportation (RIDOT). That’s $440,000 a month or $21,000 per tow. RIDOT
now projects that the cost will be at least $16.8 million by the time the
bridge is completed!
Is this the most efficient way to ensure the bridge stays
clear at the lowest cost to the taxpayers? My experience as a member of
the House Oversight Committee tells me that under this
administration, it’s unlikely that the question was ever seriously asked.
Don’t forget that Governor McKee also gave his cabinet
members pay raises this year, including RIDOT Director Peter Alviti,
who oversaw the Washington Bridge debacle and the ballooning cost to fix it.
Don’t get me started on other state agencies, especially the
ongoing fiscal mismanagement at the Rhode Island Department of
Education. More to come on that one!
RIPTA is a lifeline for so many Rhode Islanders. Yes, there
has been mismanagement and waste in the past, but unlike so many state
agencies, RIPTA has already made tangible improvements to bring down its
administrative and operating costs. If Governor McKee is looking to save
taxpayer money, he has many more agencies under his control that could use the
scrutiny.
I suggest the governor do just that, rather than continue to
attempt to rewrite some very recent, very public history.
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