PROVIDENCE, R.I. - General Treasurer Gina M. Raimondo today released the State of the Treasury: Secure Path RI, a midterm review of Treasury's accomplishments since she took office in 2011, and a look ahead to the work still to come.
"Government touches our lives every day and so must be part of the solution to building a stronger Rhode Island," Raimondo said. "Treasury is focused on making government work for Rhode Islanders and looking for new ways to solve problems."
The State of the Treasury: Secure Path RI is divided into three sections: Investing in the Future, Operational Excellence, and Retirement Security. By focusing on these strategic priorities, Treasury illustrates its overall commitment to accountability, transparency and results.
Over the first half of Treasurer Raimondo's term, taxpayers realized the following savings:
• About $4 billion over the next 20 years from implementing comprehensive pension reform
• About $1 billion over the next 20 years for municipalities from pension reform
• Recent successful general obligation bond sale at the lowest cost-of-capital in state history, will make infrastructure investments more affordable
• About $7 million in interest due to a successful bond refinancing
• About $450,000 annually in rent and parking by moving to a state-owned building
• About $300,000 annually from changing the pension fund's custodial banking
Operational improvements include:
• Implementing comprehensive pension reform and providing retirement security
• Shortening the processing of unclaimed property from an average of six - eight weeks to one week
• Eliminating a 900-case backlog in the Crime Victim Compensation Program
• Diversifying the portfolio by including risk-managed hedge funds to reduce the portfolio's overall risk, to help protect against any future downturns in the stock market such as 2008-09
• Implementing a "no campaign donation acceptance" policy for those actively bidding on Treasury
• Instituting a code of conduct and pledge to be signed by investment advisors that they agree to abide by SEC, MSRB rules
In addition to streamlining existing programs, Treasury launched several initiatives to improve performance at the state and local levels, including:
• The Rhode Island Financial Coaching Corps - a partnership with the Capital Good Fund
• The Ocean State Investment Pool - use economies of scale to create a competitive cash investment option for government finance professionals
• The Rhode Island Investor Relations Portal - the state's first ever online tool to provide transparency to state finances
"Treasury will push for results and is committed to building opportunities for all Rhode Islanders to succeed," Raimondo continued. "We will continue to look to deliver outcomes by acting with urgency, searching for innovative solutions, streamlining work and building partnerships, locally and nationally."
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