Clarity & Community
Town business should be understandable to the people paying for it. Having taught Statistics, I know how easy it is to bury a decision in numbers nobody has time to parse. I'll push for budget documents that show what changed and why, agenda materials posted with enough lead time for residents to actually read them, and plain-language explanations of every bond and major vote before it goes to the public.
Communication is clarity.
The blizzard of ‘26 was intense (but not as intense as ‘78!). But how is it we received official town updates about the safety of our roads, of schools, of the numbers of plows stuck — all on a private Facebook group run by four dedicated town citizens? We need an official social media page for the Town, one where the Leadership can post timely updates and messages regarding North Smithfield. The Town Administrator should not be asked to post from his own private account — it can lead to confusion, where people might not recognize the name and question where the news is coming from.
Our budget should be accessible.
I want a town budget that's online, up to date, and written in plain English. Not buried in multiple PDFs. A real, readable breakdown: what we're spending, what we're spending it on, and how this year compares to last year. Especially if there’s a $9,000,000 bond vote called for February, where only 1,000 people out of 12,000 people show up to vote on it.
That made me uncomfortable then, and it continues to make me uncomfortable now. That’s why I created a tool, which you can access by clicking that picture, that helped me break down some general estimates of how much of the bond would be needed.
But that took me ages of reading documents. It took being raised by a financial advisor and a tax preparer, and some unhealthy levels of determination I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Nor should anyone have to suffer to find that information.
Let’s welcome new arrivals to our community.
When Robyn and I packed up our things and moved back from Pennsylvania to Rhode Island, we let the United States Post Office know our old and new addresses. The USPS sells that information to companies that then send coupons, congratulations, welcomes, et cetera to your new address. It’s a lot of moving-related mail.
And as we sorted through the mail, we wondered. The Clerk knows we purchased a deed. The Town knows we’re new homeowners. Wouldn’t we rather be sorting through information about our home? What local businesses are there around us? Is there a company in North Smithfield that can help us paint our new walls? I love coffee - do we have a new coffee shop since I’ve been gone? Did I remember to update my voter registration? What time is the public library open?
Small towns like North Smithfield thrive because we stand shoulder to shoulder with our local businesses. We support each other, recommend the honest work that our neighbors provide, and we are always willing to give a good recommendation to someone new. Let’s formalize this through the Clerk’s Office. Businesses can provide coupons if they so like, or purchase advertising space, with higher prices for businesses the further out of town they are.
