Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council

• The Boston Globe published an op-ed from RIPEC calling for reforms to the way the state spends its housing dollars in the wake of voters’ approval of a $120 million housing bond. Recommended reforms include more opportunities for mixed-income housing developments, better efforts to control project costs, the pursuit of innovative approaches like a public developer, and resolving governance issues among state housing agencies.

• RIPEC’s comprehensive report on housing policy in Rhode Island received continuing news coverage. “Our findings suggest that to eliminate the wide gap in affordable housing in the Ocean State, we need both significant additional state resources and substantial improvement on the state’s return on investment,” said RIPEC President & CEO Michael DiBiase.
  • Rhode Island Current, “A state-run revolving fund could redefine public housing in Rhode Island”
  • Rhode Island Current, “How to house Rhode Islanders? Cut the red tape already”
  • WPRO, “Matt Allen Show: RIPEC’s Housing Report”

• Michael DiBiase spoke to the Rhode Island Current concerning the $67.5 million increase in projected state general revenues for the current fiscal year adopted at the November Revenue Estimating Conference. “It’s better to go positive than negative,” DiBiase said, while noting that the state still faces a daunting structural deficit for fiscal year (FY) 2026 and that the increase in revenues, “[hasn’t] really changed the picture that much.”

Inside Insights

• Rhode Island’s November Revenue Estimating Conference increased general revenue estimates for FY 2025 by $67.5 million, and set general revenue estimates for FY 2026 at $126.2 million, or 2.3 percent over revised FY 2025 projections. The Caseload Estimating Conference—which projects cash assistance caseload, costs for private community providers serving those with developmental disabilities, and medical assistance expenditures—adopted estimates reducing general revenue caseload expenditures for FY 2025 by $23.3 million.

• Newly-released data from the Rhode Island Division of Municipal Finance shows that the assessed value of taxable real estate and tangible business property in the state reached $184 billion, with residential real estate alone valued at $151 billion—a year-over-year increase of nearly $22 billion, driven primarily by a $20 billion uptick in residential property. The new data reflects the continuation of a recent, staggering uptick in the assessed value of residential real estate statewide, growing by over $52 billion (53%) between FY 2020 and FY 2025.

• The Board of Commissioners of RIHousing approved Parcel 9 II for firm financing at its November meeting. The 61-unit development to be built on a vacant parcel located in the I-195 Redevelopment District carries a total development cost of $533,815 per unit, making it the most expensive project to date on a per unit basis financed from pandemic-era, one-time federal funds. Subsidies from state and federal one-time sources total $17.8 million, representing $349,020 per affordable and middle-income unit.

• A special report from the National Conference of State Legislatures on trending legislative topics for 2025 found that, despite cooling revenue growth nationwide, states are expected to pursue property tax relief, measures to improve business investment, and cuts to personal income taxes.  

What to Look for in December

• Several Legislative Commissions with a focus on housing will be meeting on December 12. The Commission to Study Housing Affordability will discuss progress with the Pallet Shelter Community for the homeless, and the Commission to Study the Entire Area of Land Use, Preservation, Development, Housing, Environment, and Regulation will hear testimony on uniform statewide planning and zoning permits.  

• The Department of Housing is set to submit a report on housing governance by December 31. The report is expected to offer recommendations for institutional changes to define clearer lines of authority between the state’s various housing agencies and offer proposals for a more formal relationship between the Department, RIHousing, and the Housing Resources Commission.