Should the state allow Providence to declare bankruptcy?

By PBN Staff

At a conference last week in Philadelphia, Robert G. Flanders Jr., the former R.I. Supreme Court justice and currently the state-appointed receiver for bankrupt Central Falls, said that it was likely the Providence was going to have to declare bankruptcy in order to be able to solve its fiscal problems.

Providence Mayor Angel Taveras and Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee both say they want to avoid the city filing for bankruptcy, but with the city budget still showing a significant deficit three months from the end of the fiscal year, it seems likely that there will be a cash flow disaster before the end of June.

What should the city do, declare bankruptcy and try to work out an alternative?