Thursday, January 2, 2025
Today officially marks the second complete year of the Smiley Administration, a year of significant accomplishments, national acclaim and critical initiatives that have positioned the City of Providence for continued growth and success. Under Mayor Brett P. Smiley’s leadership, Providence has prioritized investments and initiatives that matter most to the community: enhancing public safety, improving local infrastructure, investing in education and climate resiliency and modernizing city services to improve the local quality-of-life and establish a strong foundation for the City’s future.
“Year two was a year of meaningful progress that sets us on a clear path forward,” said Mayor Brett Smiley. “From securing historic partnerships, like the Brown University Health PILOT agreement, to strategic investments in affordable housing, public safety, city services and sustainability, we’ve taken significant steps toward building a more resilient and vibrant Providence. The work we’ve already accomplished has meaningfully improved the quality-of-life of our neighbors and is positioning Providence on a path for long-term success in the years ahead. I want to thank the dedicated city employees, community leaders and partners whose hard work has been integral to these accomplishments.”
The feedback the City received from community members and local businesses was used as a framework to guide the priorities and targeted investments made throughout the year. From paving roads, repairing nearly ten miles of sidewalks in every neighborhood and filling over 4,000 potholes to proactively dredging canals and clearing 1,700 storm drains to prevent flooding, Mayor Smiley is committed to ensuring that City Hall is both proactive and responsive to addressing the most important needs of community members.
Reflecting Mayor Smiley’s commitment to addressing the housing crisis, Providence launched the Housing and Human Services Office to more effectively support the immediate and long-term housing needs of residents. In conjunction with that office and the Providence Housing Trust Fund, the City committed over $55M towards the development and preservation of affordable housing, which is expected to preserve or create over 1,600 new affordable housing units, with many of the projects completed or under construction this year. To support the immediate needs of Providence’s unhoused population, the City expedited Temporary Use Permits for new shelter beds and committed another $6M to expand shelter beds and transitional housing, resulting in over 180 new shelter and transitional housing beds. The Smiley Administration collaborated across departments this year to streamline the permitting process for new construction and became one of the first municipalities in the state to adopt new zoning regulations that allows more housing development in every neighborhood. In combination with the City’s historic direct investments in affordable housing, this multi-pronged approach to addressing the housing crisis is making it easier and faster to create and preserve new affordable housing units across the city.
In his second year of office, Mayor Smiley continued to prioritize initiatives and investments that build a more resilient city, helping to safeguard neighborhoods from the impacts of climate change and position Providence as a national leader in the green and blue economies. From shifting away from the use of fossil fuels by signing an historic carbon neutral ordinance, to tracking building energy usage through the City’s Building Energy Reporting Program (BERO) and investing in stormwater management, Providence has made climate resiliency a core component of the city’s ongoing infrastructure plans. In the past year, Providence made critical investments to the hurricane barrier, bolstered flood mitigation strategies in flood-prone neighborhoods and established a Stormwater Taskforce to better inform future climate resilient policies and practices. In September, the City launched a comprehensive plan to implement innovative waste diversion, composting and food waste reduction programs to improve recycling rates and foster healthier communities. And to further protect neighbors from extreme weather, Providence launched its Resiliency Hub program, starting with the Olneyville Hub, to help residents prepare for and respond to extreme weather events.
Following two years of extensive community input, this past year Mayor Smiley signed a once-in-a-decade update to the city’s Comprehensive Plan, a roadmap that will shape how Providence can grow over the next ten years. The plan outlines a community-driven framework to increase housing density, bolster climate resiliency efforts and strengthen economic development to further support the City’s ongoing efforts to address the housing crisis and responsibly mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Investing in initiatives that make Providence a safer and more welcoming place to live, work and visit continues to be a top priority for the Smiley Administration. The Providence Police completed its second academy in just two years, recruiting another 34 new officers and removed 300 illegal firearms from community streets, making every neighborhood in Providence safer. To further bolster safety in schools and neighborhoods, Mayor Smiley announced last year a $237,500 funding opportunity for innovative initiatives focused on nonviolence strategies that prevent conflict. The Providence Fire Department launched a new academy this past year and expanded the innovative EMS Bicycle Unit, a specialized unit designed to provide preventative emergency services and help residents struggling with substance use get connected to recovery resources. Additionally, with a $2.3M Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Providence enhanced its efforts to combat the opioid epidemic by equipping EMS teams with the tools needed to respond quickly and effectively to prevent overdoses.
Creating vibrant, welcoming spaces for all neighbors has been another priority for the Smiley Administration. Over the past year, the city has completed 25 major greenspace and parks renovation projects, transforming Providence’s parks and greenspaces in every neighborhood. Since taking office, the Smiley Administration has committed nearly $25M in park renovations and completed over 64 projects across the city with over 170 ongoing projects in progress. Providence’s Recreation Department launched the Recreational Soccer League this past year, the first of its kind in Providence, providing youth across Rhode Island with the opportunity to participate in an inclusive, weekly soccer experience.
This past year, the Smiley Administration increased the City’s investment to the Providence Public School District by an historic $20M, underscoring Providence’s commitment to the students, teachers and families of Providence. More than 1,000 residents provided feedback to help prepare the City for PPSD to return to local control through our community surveys and a dozen in-person meetings. The City continued to work with the community to advance key Turnaround Action Plan metrics, support early childhood education and invest in after school learning programs to improve educational outcomes and set Providence students up for long-term success. In 2024, Providence invested over $146M in school construction projects, breaking ground on three new state-of-the art schools, hosted both comprehensive summer learning opportunities and hands-on career training programs and invested in mentoring opportunities including a nearly $1M investment to support local mentoring programs.
Improving the quality-of-life for Providence neighbors has been a priority for Mayor Smiley since day one. Last year, the Smiley Administration collaborated across departments to streamline and modernize how neighbors and businesses interact with City Hall. From the launch of an online permitting system and online owner-occupied tax application process to the digitalization of systems and documents in the Fire, Police and Inspections and Standards departments, Providence is making it easier and faster for neighbors to access the essential services they rely on. In April, the City replaced every parking meter in Providence with state-of-the-art meters that include easier, more accessible payment options and in November the City designated free year-round parking spots on Washington Street to make City Hall easier to access. The Department of Inspections and Standards streamlined the City’s review process to make building new construction in Providence easier and as of this year the Providence Fire Department is now completely paper free.
Among the Smiley Administration’s most notable accomplishments in year two was the signing of the Brown University Health Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) Agreement. For the first time in Providence’s history, every major tax-exempt institution in the city now has a formalized PILOT agreement that meaningfully gives back directly to the community. The agreement secured $1.5M in contributions from the hospital system over the next three years, the largest annual contribution the hospital system has made to Providence in a decade. Following last year’s historic PILOT agreement with the City’s colleges and universities, this agreement further cements Providence as a national model in redefining how tax-exempt entities and communities can collaborate.
Providence continued to earn national acclaim and accolades in 2024, earning a perfect score, the highest score in the state, on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index underscoring the Smiley Administration’s commitment to bolstering policies that foster a welcoming, inclusive city. Reflecting the Administration’s strong fiscal management processes, last year’s Fitch Ratings upgraded Providence’s outstanding General Obligation (GO) Bonds credit rating to A+ from A. Nationally, in 2024 Providence was named one of the most walkable cities by USA Today, ranked number two on CNN’s list of best towns to visit in 2024 and in June Providence was selected by the United States Conference of Mayors to host their 2027 Annual Meeting.