Only one company bid on a contract worth up to $20 million to inspect and maintain the filters that treat Providence's drinking water, and the city's documents do not say why. The City Council's Special Committee on Ways and Means takes up the contract at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, along with Providence Water's $98,061,449 operating budget and $36,306,900 in new borrowing.
Where the water money comes from and goes
The operating budget, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, relies almost entirely on customers: $94,254,900 of $98,061,449 in revenue, or 96 percent, comes from the sale of water. Operating expenses are $60,796,085, or 62 percent of revenue. More than half of that, $33,105,017, pays salaries, fringe benefits and retirement, and $9,190,434 pays property taxes.
Net transfers to other funds come to $37,252,520, and the ordinance leaves a surplus of $12,845. It would take effect retroactive to July 1, 2026, more than four months into the fiscal year. According to an Oct. 8 letter from Senior Director of Finance Cheryl McCreight to City Clerk Tina Mastroianni, the Providence Water Supply Board approved the budget on June 17. Council President Pro Tempore Juan M. Pichardo sponsors the ordinances.
New borrowing for replacement work
The largest of the 13 ordinances is the Infrastructure Replacement Program Fund, at $125,432,812. It counts $36,306,900 in "New Bond Proceeds/Line of Credit," meaning money the utility would borrow, which is 29 percent of the fund. Another $45,457,475 is bond money carried over, and $29,091,487 is a transfer from water operations.
The fund budgets $47,800,000 for projects paid with bond money and $11,182,722 for projects paid with cash. It sets aside $15,207,715 for debt service, the payments on borrowed money. The fund's listed expenses total $79,782,715, so the ordinance shows a $48,650,097 surplus in the fund.
The agenda lists 13 Water Supply Board ordinances in all, including $6,621,264 for a Lead Service Replacement Fund.
One bidder, a $20 million ceiling
The same agenda has a resolution approving a contract with Water Service Professionals of PA, Inc., of Jamison, Pa., for water treatment filter inspection and maintenance from 2026 through 2032. The total is "not to exceed" $20,000,000. That is a ceiling, not a price, and the committee packet contains only the resolution text: the company, the amount and the department. It does not include the contract terms.
General Manager Ricky Caruolo recommended the company, as sole bidder, in an Oct. 5 letter, according to the Oct. 19 Board of Contract and Supply agenda. Minutes of the board's Sept. 21 meeting show the company as the only name in the bid opening, with the notation "N/A - Request for Qualifications Only." The agenda lists its minority participation at 0 percent.
Because only one company responded, the city's records show no competing offer to compare with the $20 million ceiling. The documents do not say why only one company bid, and no explanation from Providence Water is in the record.
The Board of Contract and Supply, the city board that approves purchasing contracts, approved the award on Oct. 19, pending City Council approval, as one of 27 items passed together on a 7-1 vote, according to minutes in the Nov. 2 packet. A block vote does not show how members viewed this contract alone. The minutes mark this contract as requiring City Council approval, so the committee's action on Nov. 10 is the next decision point. The meeting is in Committee "B" on the third floor of City Hall, 25 Dorrance St.
