BY VINAYA SAKSENA

CENTRAL FALLS — With the state’s ongoing financial crisis compounding their city’s own financial troubles, Central Falls officials have been meeting to discuss ways to address the problem- some of which they would much rather not engage in- according to Mayor Charles Moreau.

The mayor’s office issued a press release last week announcing that the city would be initiating major cutbacks in operating costs, in response Governor Don Carcieri’s decision to cut off more than $300,000 in funding that Moreau said the city had been expecting to receive. In January, the Times had obtained a copy of what was apparently a confidential memo sent to city department heads by Finance Director John Kuzmiski, in which he instructed that measures be taken to decrease costs and increase revenue, due to unforeseen financial difficulties. On Friday evening, Moreau told the Times he had been meeting with Kuzmiski and other city officials for much of the afternoon in an effort to solve the city’s financial troubles, and that another such meeting was planned for the following day.
“We’re continuing to make very difficult decisions regarding personnel and the city budget,” Moreau said. “We’re going to continue to reduce the budget, and to be as fair as we can to the taxpayers at this difficult financial time.” 
Moreau blamed the situation primarily on the cuts made by Carcieri, noting that the city- which is slightly over a single square mile in area- had major limitations with regard to the revenue it could raise, compared to other communities. He said that several cost-saving measures had already been put in place, including furloughs, and though he expressed strong displeasure with the idea, the mayor noted that layoffs were being considered.
In fact, Moreau said, members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees’ Council 94 were already facing a mandatory temporary layoff of five days, as part of the round of furloughs that he previously said were being considered. The mayor said he could not comment on ongoing negotiations, but indicated that Council 94, which represents highway, public works and city hall labor, may face further cuts, much to his displeasure.
“It’s not a permanent layoff,” Moreau said of the union’s current status. “It may come to that, though I don’t want it to.”
“It’s not pretty,” he added. “It’s not fun being in my position right now, but that’s my job.”
Moreau said that all department heads had already taken five furlough days, and would be facing increased healthcare co-pays.
The statement issued by his administration last week indicated that the portion of healthcare costs paid by employees was also “expected to increase.”
In its statement last week, Moreau’s administration also indicated that city employees- with the exceptions of the police and fire chiefs- were no longer being allowed to take city vehicles home, in order to save on the rising cost of fuel. Moreau said that the pre-existing policy on vehicles had allowed “emergency personnel”- including the housing director, building official, police and fire deputy chiefs and police captains- to take vehicles home.
In January, Moreau told the Times that his administration had filed a request with the office of Auditor General Ernest Almonte to be allowed to file the annual audit report on the city’s finances. More recently, it was learned that the city had missed an extension date in March to file the report. The due date for reports to be filed was December 31, unless an extension is granted. Moreau explained that the late filing was due to a payroll clerk leaving city employ and the city’s decision to not fill positions that become vacant in order to control costs.
“It was late,” he admitted. “We were down one person due to retirement.”
Almonte said the city had received four extensions- the first being until the end of January, the second at the end of February, the third in the middle of March and the final one at the end of March. He said that Central Falls and Johnston were the only communities to request an extension to March 31, though Johnston’s report was filed in time for that extended deadline.
Almonte said the city faced a $10,000 fee for the late report, a fee which is assessed for each month that a report is late. However, he noted that the city had decided to appeal the fine. Almonte noted that he had not decided whether or not to waive the fine as of press time.
Moreau said it was not uncommon for municipalities to be late in filing their audit reports. Almonte said that the a few years ago, the number of late reports was becoming problematic, making Rhode Island “one of the worst in the country” with respect to late municipal audit filings. He noted that the tightened standards had drastically reduced the number of delinquencies. In any case, he said he was glad to have finally received the report from Central Falls.
“I’m happy that the final reports are in,” Almonte said. “That’s the most important thing. Timely financial statements are crucial to the running of the city.”
Meanwhile, Moreau said that the city had indeed hired the grant writer he had previously said the city would seek. The position was awarded to John Worsley, who, while known to many Times readers as the paper’s jazz music columnist, is also “a bright guy” with qualifications and talent for the position, according to the mayor. He will be compensated at no cost to the city, instead earning a portion of the administrative fee for each grant he garners, according to the mayor.
Moreau said that Worsley had already secured a federal grant for the city, which will pay for the cost of three additional police officers for three years. The mayor said this grant would help realize his goal for the difficult financial situation facing the city: to stave off drastic tax increases, while maintaining quality municipal services, with particular attention to be paid to the youth of the city, who have already suffered the tragedy of losing one of their own when Central Falls High School student Edelmiro Roman was killed in a recent shooting.
“Services are going to be minimally reduced,” Moreau said. “I’m never going to compromise public safety in Central Falls. We have two of the best chiefs in the state of Rhode Island.”