Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council

• RIPEC released a comprehensive report on housing in Rhode Island, examining the state’s housing policies and its historic investment of $332.2 million in federal one-time pandemic recovery funding. RIPEC found that the state’s return on investment was limited by the lack of attention to producing middle-income and market rate housing, the pursuit of social and other policy goals supplemental to the provision of housing, and the relative deemphasis on project costs.
  • Rhode Island Current, “R.I. spent hundreds of millions on affordable housing. Did it get its money’s worth?”
  • WPRI 12, “RI housing report calls for broader focus on middle-income needs”
  • Providence Business News, “RIPEC: R.I.’s investment in affordable housing falls short”
  • GoLocalProv, “RI’s Housing Program Cost of Developing Units Found to Be As High as $500K Per Unit”
  • What’s Up Newp, “RIPEC analyzes Rhode Island’s investments in housing”

• RIPEC’s report on empty seats in Rhode Island classrooms was featured in a Providence Business News story on the fiscal challenges school districts are facing—a result of long-standing enrollment declines that were exacerbated by the pandemic. “Districts only now are truly feeling the full effect of that enrollment loss,” said RIPEC Manager of Research Justine Oliva. “We are now in a new fiscal reality [and] districts are going to have to adjust.”

Inside Insights

• The Rhode Island Office of the Auditor General released a report on financial trends in the state’s 39 municipalities. The report found that several municipalities are not following sustainable financial practices, such as prefunding other postemployment benefit programs, maintaining minimum levels of general fund balances, and managing risk through systematic processes.   

• The National Association of State Budget Officers conducted an overview of the enacted budgets of states for fiscal year (FY) 2025, finding that the priorities of state budgets overall was maintaining fiscal discipline by making use of one-time revenue for one-time spending, paying down debt, and strengthening reserves.

• The Bureau of Labor statistics announced that the U.S. economy added 254,000 jobs in September, outpacing the Dow Jones consensus forecast and the 159,000 jobs added in August. The unemployment rate—at 4.1 percent—remains virtually unchanged from August.

What to Look for in October

• RIPEC’s 81st Annual Meeting will be held Wednesday October 23rd at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick. Ted Nesi, WPRI 12 Politics Editor and Investigative Reporter, will host an engaging Q&A with Editor and Publisher of Inside Elections Nathan Gonzales. Tickets are available here.

• The Rhode Island Department of Education is expected to publish Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System (RICAS) results for English language arts and mathematics for the 2023-2024 school year.
  
  .