Mayor: Pawtucket on brink of bankruptcy

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WPRI) - The city of Pawtucket is on the brink of bankruptcy, facing a ten million dollar deficit, if nearly five million of revenue sharing from the state disappears.

"If that happens and we receive no relief from the legislature, then we are right there and that means right there at the brink of bankruptcy," says Mayor James Doyle.

Now the mayor is considering extreme measures in order to close the budget gap. Those measures could include furlough days for city workers, closing city hall one or two days a week and even selling city property.

The mayor is also asking workers to take pay cuts but union leaders would prefer layoffs for some rather than pay cuts for all.

The President of the city workers union, August Venice says, "If we make the cuts then we look at how long into the future it will take us to recoup the cuts. It may take us 10, 15, 20 years to recoup the cuts."