Rhode Island should cut spending, consider boosting fees and take other steps to resolve future state budget deficits — but avoid raising taxes.

That is the message contained in a budget analysis scheduled to be issued Monday by the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC), a business-backed public-policy group that monitors state finances.

The state currently plans to rely heavily on federal stimulus funds to help balance the budget for the year that ends June 30 and the year that begins July 1, the report said.

But this approach does not deal with the underlying structural problems regarding state spending, RIPEC says.

As a result, budgets for future years will not be balanced without “substantial cuts or increased revenues as the stimulus funds end,” RIPEC said in the report.

The group cited estimates from the state Budget Office for a budget deficit of about $156 million for the 2011 fiscal year, $370 million for 2012, $430 million for the 2013 and $482 million for 2014. (The House fiscal staff projects such future-year budget deficits will be even greater, RIPEC said.)

“Unless there is substantial growth in income and wealth in this state over the next few years — something we think is unlikely — the state can no longer sustain the level of government services and spending that has developed over the last few decades,” the report says.

“Moreover, given the fact that Rhode Island is already one of the most heavily taxed states in the country and not competitive with our closest neighbors, there is no way we can — or should — address this deficit with new or increased taxes,” the RIPEC report says.

The group recommends that cities and towns take steps to reduce spending — by, among other things, changing pension systems, implementing standard health-care plans and purchasing common services jointly.

At the state level, RIPEC recommends such steps as limiting growth in personnel spending and reforming the overall pension system.

In addition, the state should begin working now on a budget for the year that ends June 30, 2012, “without relying on one-time revenues or broad-based tax increases,” the report said.

RIPEC also urged that the state review the range of fees it charges. The group said that, when compared with other states, Rhode Island ranks near the bottom regarding income from charges and miscellaneous revenues.

The state should review fees and other such charges “to [ensure] the adequacy of charges for services, the need for the charges and whether the state can seek additional non-tax income,” the RIPEC report said.

ndowning@projo.com