Rhode Islanders approve $400 million in bond questions Published Wed Mar 03 2021 22:54:16 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) Rhode Islanders approved $400 million in bond measures in Tuesday’s special election to fund projects ranging from affordable housing to facilities upgrades for higher education. by Julia Moro
The bond questions asked Rhode Islanders to borrow millions of dollars for various projects.
Michael DiBiase, CEO of Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council says the state will benefit in the long-term by investing in infrastructure, childcare, the environment and more.
“It’s common and responsible for states to borrow money for capital infrastructure; these are long-term investments,” said DiBiase. “You could always talk about, would it be more conservative to not borrow, but I don’t think that’s a wise approach because then you wouldn’t have the benefits of these assets over time.”
Wednesday, March 03, 2021
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Rhode Island voters approved all seven questions on Tuesday s ballot to approve $400 million in borrowing.
With just around roughly 100,000 voters weighing in on each question, the turnout was less than a fifth of that for the Presidential race in the November election in Rhode Island, when 517,757 votes were cast.
RESULTS
Daily News staff
Mirroring the outcome statewide, a majority of voters across Newport County supported all seven ballot questions in Tuesday s special election.
Of the seven bond referendums, Newport County voters were most overly supportive of funding transportation projects.
All six communities approved Question 4 to provide $71.1 million in funds to the Department of Transportation for road and bridge reconstruction of Rhode Island’s deficient roads and bridges, with at least 80% of voters in favor of the bond request.
Leading the way among Newport County towns was Newport with 86.9% of voters approving the measure. Statewide 80.4% of voters approved the question.
It likely came as no surprise Newport County voters also displayed strong support for Question 2, which allocates $74 million for major capital improvements at state beaches, parks and campgrounds; for park infrastructure on the former Interstate 195 land; for local recreation projects; to protect natural and w
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