As of 2000, Providence ranked third-worst in the nation in child poverty and fourth-worst in overall poverty among big cities. Cities from coast to coast have helped combat poverty by passing laws that require that jobs on projects in which the city is invested go to city residents. The dirty little secret is that Providence - unbeknownst to almost all residents, government officials, and developers - has already had a law to that effect on the books. Today, however, that law is not being enforced, and Providence has seen unemployment rise.
In 1985, then-Mayor Vincent Cianci signed the First Source Hiring Ordinance into law. The ordinance mandates that all new jobs that are created as a consequence of city-funded or city-subsidized projects, including those receiving tax concessions, go to qualified Providence residents, unless there is nobody in the city who can perform the needed task.
The ordinance sets up goals for training and hiring women, minorities and the disabled for these jobs. It proposes a mechanism by which the city would collect names of prospective hires who are skilled or interested in particular trades and fields, provides for the advertising of the existence of this list and encourages the creation of job-training programs to teach Providence residents important skills they may be lacking.
The ordinance also requires that $250,000 - which, adjusted for inflation, would be $400,000 today - be allocated annually to fund all of these initiatives. But the money has never been allocated in full, and the ordinance has never been enforced.
A constituent brought the existence of this local-hiring law to our attention a little more than a year ago. The structures to support its goals were not, and are not, in place, but we identified $140,000 to be used to facilitate its implementation. The Cicilline administration and the Department of Planning and Development have been actively and earnestly engaged in the effort to finally put into practice this long-languishing program, and this fall the city awarded a contract for a consultant to help us set up the program, with a final report due in a few months.
Providence is in the midst of a boom in prospective development, much of it likely to receive tax breaks from the city. Over the last 10 years, Providence has approved nearly $200 million in tax breaks for various projects. The value of construction on those projects, when added to the values of various endeavors paid for directly with city money, reaches into the billions of dollars.
There are myriad reasons why it is vital that we keep this money in Providence - why it be used to create local jobs and provide incomes for local residents. On average, our population is significantly poorer than that of the surrounding area, and a given dollar is more valuable to a poor person than to a rich one. Unemployment is higher here than in the region on average.
As more and more people compete with one another for particular jobs - as we allow developers to look to a wider and wider region for potential hires - downward pressure on the quality of the jobs grows stronger, wages and benefits fall and profits to developers (mostly from out of state) increase.
Frequently, Providence concedes money to encourage projects that are of much greater value to the state than to the city, as the city taxes property, while the state taxes sales and incomes. Providence needs to make sure that it sees returns commensurate with its investments on these projects, and enforcement of the First Source Ordinance would be a noble start.
The Providence non-profits Direct Action for Rights and Equality and Rhode Island Jobs with Justice have helped lead the push for the enforcement of the First Source Ordinance. In its work on the issue, DARE has begun to collect names and contact information for Providence residents who are looking for jobs in particular fields.
To facilitate our work, DARE's work and that of the consultant, we ask that those who could volunteer to help us achieve First Source and other sustainable development measures get in touch with DARE, at 351-6960 or dare@daretowin.org.
David Segal and Miguel Luna are Providence city councilmen.
