Providence firefighters plan to sue the city after a report says cash reserves have plummeted and the city's pension system is not being funded.
Local 799 President Paul Doughty, who represents more than 500 members said, "The money needs to be in the pension system. If there is a cash flow problem, lets identify there is a cash flow problem." Doughty said a lawsuit against the City of Providence will be filed early next week.
On Thursday, Providence's internal auditor James Lombardi released a report highlighting what he called a bleak state of the city's finances. Lombardi says cash reserves have dwindled to a new low, falling from $36.6 million dollars to $4.6 million dollars. He also claims the city is behind on the payment to the public pension system by $24.7 million dollars. The Mayor's administration denies any wrong doing, and said a payment to the pension system will be made between November and January.
Some members of the City Council are upset with Lombardi. In a statement on the City Council website, Councilman Aponte said, “I am angered to learn that the findings of this report were discussed on talk radio before the elected members of the Providence City Council had a chance to read, debate, and discuss the findings. This only serves to undermine the credibility of the content of the report and calls into question the intentions of its author.”
Lombardi says he is "disappointed" by the comments, but claims the report could have been released months ago, had he received the documents he requested from the city. Lombardi told NBC 10 he had to file an official records request, when the information he needed was in the same building.
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