Congressional pension awaits Cicilline, in addition to six-figure salary. Here's what he'll make.
PROVIDENCE − David Cicilline is leaving the Congressional seat he recaptured just last fall for a new job in the high-paying non-profit world likely to pay him more than triple his current salary, plus a pension.
On his 62nd birthday this coming July he will qualify for a Congressional pension that pays at least $35,496 a year, under a formula that provides 1.7% of his three-year salary average ($174,000) for each year of service, according to his Congressional spokeswoman Jennifer Bell.
It is not yet clear if he will qualify for any other post-retirement benefits when he leaves, mid-term on June 1, after his 12-plus years as Rhode Island's 1st District Congressman.
The former Providence mayor will be making a salary of $650,000 as the head of the foundation, according to a spokesperson.
The 2021 total: $731,216. (His total pay package from the tax-exempt foundation was even larger in 2019: a total of $1.1 million, according to the foundation's IRS filings.)
The "Other Compensation" includes $100,000 of deferred compensation "that the Board authorized in 2019 as an incentive for Neil to stay in the job beyond typical retirement age," according to foundation spokesman Chris Barnett. ("The balance — $65,518 – is primarily a contribution to his retirement plan.")
More:With Cicilline stepping down, who might run for RI's 1st Congressional District seat?
How much money does the Rhode Island Foundation oversee and where does it go?
The Rhode Island Foundation − which oversees a $1.3-billion endowment fund − reported a total of $194.7 million in revenue in 2021, including $97 million in investment income and most of the rest from "contributions and grants." That included $5.6 million in unspecified government grants.
Out of this bounty, the Foundation provided $70.1 million in grants in what it described as "three strategic areas ... economic security, education and health," including "advocacy and organizing that gives voice to under-represented groups and promotes institutional change."
Some of the Foundation's money goes to organizations in Rhode Island, such as the John Hope Settlement House ($49,616), St. Mary's Home for Children in North Providence ($100,791), the R.I. Philharmonic Orchestra ($307,967), Crossroads ($462,765) and the United Way of Rhode Island ($4.2 million).
Grants also went to some of the most elite schools in Rhode Island and beyond, such as the Trustees of Dartmouth College ($94,000), The Lincoln School ($458,618), Miss Hall's School ($500,000) and Mount Holyoke College ($600,000). (Some of the grants came from donor directed funds.)
In his new arena, Cicilline − a one-time state legislator − will also preside over a potential $1 million a year "lobbying" budget that, in 2021, included $38,270 in lobbying expenditures to "influence public opinion" and $76,316 "to influence a legislative body," according to the IRS filing. (Steinberg was listed as the Foundation's $2.500 a month lobbyist.)
What else does the Foundation do, that Cicilline could preside over?
Mid-pandemic, Gov. Dan McKee and the state's legislative leaders also gave the Foundation a role in doling out $20 million in federal coronavirus relief (ARPA) funds.
Applications for the $50,000 to $150,000 grants closed on February 15: "Applicants must attest they were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic."
On Friday, Department of Administrationn spokesman Derek Gomes told The Journal:
The current-year state budget explicitly gives the Foundation responsible for distributing "State Fiscal Recovery Fund...to nonprofit organizations to address needs that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19, including housing and food insecurity, and behavioral health issues, among others.”
The enacted budget explicitly states that “[T]hese funds shall be allocated to the Rhode Island Foundation” for this purpose. The Rhode Island Foundation is providing general operating grants to nonprofit organizations that are working to address food insecurity, housing instability and homelessness prevention, and behavioral health needs."
"Applicants must attest that they were negatively impacted by the pandemic through revenue loss, staffing shortages, increased costs, etc. Rhode Island Foundation staff review the applications and make funding recommendations to be reviewed and approved by Rhode Island Foundation leadership.
"As of January 31, 2023, the Rhode Island Foundation distributed approximately $11.9 million in grants. In terms of administrative fees, the State allowed the Rhode Island Foundation to charge $25,000 for the Single Audit that the federal government requires them to undertake as a part of the State Fiscal Recovery Fund program. That is the only payment the State is making directly to the Rhode Island Foundation."
More on lobbying:Lobbying RI's part-time legislators is big business. Here's how big it was in 2022.
Cicilline's management of city finances as mayor raises questions
Cicilline's management of city finances as mayor faced heavy criticism, so the announcement that he will preside over a foundation with $1.3 billion in assets has raised eyebrows.
Shortly after Cicilline left City Hall, his successor, Angel Taveras, described Providence’s finances as a “Category 5 hurricane." The city had a $180-million structural deficit and had nearly depleted its rainy-day fund, which Taveras described as “staggering.”
Cicilline was accused of draining the rainy day fund in order to present a balanced budget during his last year in office. Cicilline sought to pin the blame for Providence's dire financial straits on his predecessor, the late Vincent A. Cianci Jr.
When asked by The Journal how the Foundation squared Cicilline's past as a financial manager with his new job, Dr. G. Alan Kurose, chair of the Rhode Island Foundation’s board of directors, said in a statement: "Municipal finances and the finances of a community foundation are very different."
"The Rhode Island Foundation was built on an endowment model and has been stress-tested over nearly 110 years. There are no unfunded liabilities, there is no ebb and flow of tax dollars, and Representative Cicilline will have the resources among our staff, board, investment and finance committees, and our investment managers to rely on."
For the record: "He is not currently receiving a pension from the city nor will he be eligible for a city pension," according to a city spokeswoman.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: David Cicilline to get Congressional pension and RIF salary - what he will make
