By JIM BARON

PROVIDENCE — Gov. Donald Carcieri plans to shut down state government for a dozen days between now and July 1, 2010 as part of an effort to save more than $70 million and keep the budget in balance.

State employee unions say they intend to challenge Carcieri's executive order which he estimates will save $21.6 million, but the administration believes the shutdown will be upheld by the courts, as was a similar move by then-Gov. Bruce Sundlun in 1991 in the wake of the state's credit union crisis. 
It is Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns, however, that could take the biggest hit.
Already reeling from the loss of $55 million in state revenue sharing funds this year, local communities could lose another $32.5 million in state aid if the governor can convince the General Assembly to give him the power to not spend money that has been allocated as a part of the budget.
The governor said his   first use of that authority, if the legislature chooses to grant it to him when it returns to complete its 2009 session next week, would be to eliminate the last quarterly payment of the phase out of the automobile excise tax.
Rhode Island governors enjoyed the power to withhold appropriated funds until the General Assembly took that authority away from Gov. Lincoln Almond in 1996.
When the General Assembly approved the 2010 budget, it included an unspecified cut in state spending of about $68 million. Lawmakers left it up to the executive branch to decide where to cut to make up the difference.
As he has consistently throughout his tenure, Carcieri rejected the notion of raising taxes to fill the budget hole.
“I'm not prepared to ask our citizens to pay more taxes so that I can maintain a revenue stream to the cities and towns. No!” the governor declared.
Carcieri is anticipating $21.6 million in personnel savings from the shutdown days, which assumes the courts, and the colleges and other offices and agencies not within his direct control will participate, $3 million from employee medical benefit savings, $5.2 million from eliminating consultants, $8.9 from miscellaneous operational savings and $32.5 million from the cities and towns for a total of $71.2 million in total cuts.
Michael Downey, president of Council 94 AFSCME, the union that represents the largest percentage of state employees, said he talked with all the presidents of all the locals within Council 94 on Monday and he said they decided “that we have a contract that is signed by all parties” and that they will go to court if they must to seek a restraining order to stop the shutdowns.
Downey said it is an “insult” to unionized employees that the first shutdown day is scheduled on the Friday before the Labor Day weekend.
State employees have gone a year without a raise, the president noted, seen their health insurance co-pays jump several times, took an unpaid workday in June and have seen changes to their pension system that are also being challenged in court.
“We have done enough to help out the budget,” Downey said.
AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer George Nee characterized Carcieri's plan as “nothing more than a unilateral cut in pay, not much different than a lockout. “It is cutting people's pay in violation of the collective bargaining agreements.
Nee said the executive order would be challenged, either in court or through the grievance process.
Carcieri said he is open to talking with the unions to work out an agreement that would modify the shutdown order, but attempts so far to do that have not been fruitful.
Carcieri spokeswoman Amy Kempe said cities and towns could recoup the funds by passing on the automobile excise tax on to car owners, if those communities have not exceeded the cap on an increase in their tax levy.
While the total value of vehicles in the state fell last year because of the slumping auto market, this year got off to a roaring start with the federal government's Cash for Clunkers program, which incentivized car owners to trade in older vehicles for brand new cars. That program ended last night.
But Kenpe said the idea is not for municipalities to pass on costs to their local taxpayers. She said if the cities and towns participated in the same types of shutdown days as the state plans, they could more than make up for the lost revenue.
According to figures provided by the governor's office, Pawtucket would lose $2.5 million in car tax money; Woonsocket would be down $1.3 million; East Providence would lose $1.5 million; Central Falls, $360,000; Cumberland, $680,000; Lincoln, $712,000; Burrillville, $684,000; North Smithfield, $517,000, and Glocester, $297,000
Inquiries to the House and Senate on whether they would grant the governor the withholding authority or have their employees participate in the shutdown days, were not answered on Monday.
Dan Beardsley, executive director of the RI League of Cities and Towns branded the governor's proposal “unconscionable” and predicted it could push as many as a half dozen communities, including Pawtucket, Woonsocket, West Warwick and East Providence over the edge of insolvency.
He even suggested that could be part of a Carcieri grand plan, to drive some municipalities into bankruptcy so a state commission could be appointed to take over their finances.
Beardsley chalked it up to “the same old story” of the governor balancing the state's budget woes on the backs of the cities and towns and said Carcieri “is going to have a battle on his hands” when and if the legislature returns next month and takes up the governor's plea for the power to impound funds that have been appropriated. He said he expects to be joined in that battle by mayors from across the state.
Pawtucket Mayor James Doyle was not available on Monday, but Administration Director Harvey Goulet said, “cities and towns can't turn around and bear all the misfortunes of the state budget.
“The piggybank is empty,” Goulet protested. “There is no such thing as absorbing,” such a loss of revenue, he said. “We have to go back and hit the people, and the only way to hit the people is with the residential tax and the commercial tax. This has got to stop. It's ridiculous for the governor of the state of Rhode Island to even consider that cities and towns could do this.
“He doesn't want to be looked upon as man who raised taxes on individuals, but he is throwing it back on the cities and towns,” Goulet said of the governor. “We don't have the money anymore, he's already taken it.”
He said hikes in either the income tax or sales tax would be more fair, especially when people in Pawtucket are living through 13 percent unemployment, home foreclosures and other financial miseries.
“As far as I'm concerned we should just turn around and declare war against the state of Rhode Island and maybe the federal government will come up and give us some federal aid,” an exasperated Goulet joked.
A call to Woonsocket Mayor Susan Menard was not returned on Monday.
Even House Republican Leader Robert Watson, usually a Carcieri ally, was sharply critical of the governor's plan.
“What we are doing is putting the burden on the property tax payer,” Watson told The Times. “If this budget is so out of whack, we should have vetoed it several months ago. When we start taking money away from cities and towns that they have grown to rely upon, you are shifting that burden to the property tax payer and we have a fiduciary duty to protect those people at the end of the day.”
Ken Block of the newly minted Moderate Party of Rhode Island, laid the blame on the legislature.
“What is so regrettable is that this extreme action is necessitated by years of short-sightedness and a lack of leadership in the General Assembly,” Block said in a written statement. “The State cannot spend more than it can afford. While the handwriting has been on the wall for many years, the Legislature has been negligent in taking measures to boost the economy.”