Jorge Elorza

Elorza's government faced a budget shortfall during his first year.[12] However, in October 2016, Elorza announced a $9.5 million budget surplus for the 2015-2016 budget year.[14] This was Providence's largest surplus in at least 20 years.[14] Critics claimed the surplus was partly due to not hiring needed police and firefighters.[14]

Elorza faced a long fight with the city's firefighters union over schedule changes.[12] In September 2016, after 13 months of lawsuits, arbitration, and sometimes nasty public exchanges, Elorza and the president of the union finally came to an agreement.[15]

Elorza presided over an expansion of new, high-tech parking meters in Providence.[16] Between January 2015 and September 2016, Elorza's administration increased the number of metered parking spaces by 50 percent, from 1,400 to 2,100.[16] Critics of the plan say that the meters hurt local business, and that the reduced tax revenue from businesses hurt by the meters is greater than the increased revenue from the parking fees.[16]

Following the November 2016 Presidential election, Elorza established the "One Providence" initiative to respond to reports of increased hate crimes against Muslims, LGBTQ people, and minorities in Providence.[17][18] The initiative includes a new "hotline" to report crime,[18] and the establishment of a Muslim-American advisory board.[17] The initiative was established to "protect and serve every resident of the city" without regard to race, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, political affiliation, religion or disability.[17] While the mayor vowed to protect undocumented immigrants from attempts at unfair deportation by the Trump administration,[17] he said he has no plans to establish Providence as a "sanctuary city."[19]

Mayor Elorza addresses riders before the start of his quarterly "Bike the Night" ride through Providence.

In 2016, Elorza set a goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.[20] Elorza is a supporter of improving the city's biking infrastructure, and in 2017 a new greenway opened in Roger Williams Park.[21] Elorza leads a quarterly bicycle ride through Providence called "Bike the Night" to highlight the city's cycling infrastructure.[21]

In 2017, the city signed a $400,000 contract with a private Silicon Valley company to introduce the first bicycle sharing program to the city, supported by local hospitals and RIPTA.[22] Despite the system being popular enough to expand in April 2019,[23] in summer 2019 a new model of bike was introduced with a less secure lock and the price of a ride increased 450%.[24] This led to the bicycles becoming associated with a "wave of vandalism and criminal activity" including widespread thefts of bicycles, bikes tossed into the Providence river, and even a company tech held at gunpoint.[22] The company paused the program in August 2019 and suspended service indefinitely in June 2020.[22]

In January 2020, Elorza unveiled a "Great Streets" initiative to create a framework of public space improvements to encourage walking, riding bicycles, and public transit.[25] The plan includes establishing an "Urban Trail Network" which includes 60 miles of bicycle paths, bike lanes, and greenways within Providence.[26]