Providence, R.I., expects to balance its budget by year's end, Mayor Angel Taveras said.
"Providence is recovering," Taveras said repeatedly in his state of the city speech last week.
The tone contrasted sharply from that of last year, when the city was $22 million short of closing a $110 million structural deficit.
Taveras at the time said Rhode Island's capital city was on the brink of bankruptcy and enduring a "Category 5 fiscal hurricane."
The mayor further cited the response since then, including pension overhaul agreements with police officers, firefighter and retirees that reduce the city's unfunded liability by an estimated $200 million.
He also cited a commitment of more than $48 million in new contributions over 11 years from such nonprofit institutions as Brown University, Providence College, the Rhode Island School of Design and Lifespan.
"We have survived the worst of our fiscal storm, but we must remain vigilant," said Taveras, citing remarks by Moody's Investors Service, which said several years of year-end deficits have left Providence "with little room for error in the event of future operating pressures."
Moody's rates the city's general obligation bonds Baa1, while Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's rate them BBB.
