It’s important that one town not benefit at the expense of another

Citizens Financial Group Inc.’s new Johnston campus, which broke ground Aug. 31, begs the question: Who’s winning and who’s losing?

Well, for starters, Citizens is staying in Rhode Island. And with a bespoke facility, it should be more efficient. The construction sector of the economy will benefit from the jobs and the materials used in the project as well. Wins for Rhode Island.

On the other side of the ledger, Cranston, East Providence, Smithfield and Warwick all are losing Citizens facilities. And the state has agreed to pay $3 million toward the cost of new on- and off-ramps from Interstate 295. And not all the neighbors of the new campus are happy to have the rural nature of their neighborhood changed. Losses for Rhode Island.

Yes, Johnston is getting a significant property tax boost as part of a 20-year tax-stabilization agreement, but the deal means the town is subsidizing the bank for two decades. Split decision in Johnston.

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At its core, aside from the construction activity, this deal does not net Rhode Island anything new, but it does prevent a major employer from leaving.

More importantly, the project shines a light on the issue of companies playing one municipality off the other for financial gain.

There are safeguards in place to prevent poaching by one community from another, and it seems that all those involved are OK with the Citizens transaction. But officials need to be on guard that the end result of such deals is not a drain on the state’s limited collective resources. •

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