Signs For Cash

North Smithfield already bans business signs on utility poles and on public property. Yet, drive any main road and you'll see the rule ignored: "We Buy Houses," junk-car, landscaping, and cleanout signs stapled to poles and staked in traffic islands.

This matters for three reasons:

•      It looks bad. Clutter on our main corridors drags down the town's appearance and the property values our sign code was written to protect.

•      It punishes businesses that follow the rules. A shop that pays for a permitted sign competes against someone who staples fifty signs to poles for free. When rules go unenforced, honest businesses lose.

•      It erodes trust. Every ignored ordinance tells residents the town's rules are optional.

The goal is to give every business a free, legal way to be seen, then enforce the rules fairly for anyone who still ignores them. Nobody in this town should be punished for trying to earn a living. Everyone should play by the same rules.

The Solution: Carrot, Stick, and The String

Part 1: A Free, Legal Way to Be Seen

Most of the signs on our poles come from small and home-based businesses with no storefront and no ad budget. Give them something better for free.

A town business directory. Every North Smithfield business can list its name, category, phone, website and service area on the town website at no cost. Listings are grouped by category and alphabetized within each one, so no business gets placed ahead of another.

A weekly spotlight on town social media. Each week, the town's official accounts feature one business category (plumbers, landscapers, bakeries, auto repair) and link to that section of the directory. Residents can comment with local businesses they recommend. A year of posts covers 52 categories. The town promotes the directory and never singles out one business.

Posting boards where people actually wait. Few people walk past a bulletin board in 2026. Parents do stand on the sidelines for an hour every weekend. Covered community boards at the Pacheco fields and the sports complex near the elementary school put local businesses in front of local families. Each board also carries a QR code linking to the online directory.

Part 2: Equal Opportunity Enforcement

1.     Removal on sight. The Building/Zoning Official, the Department of Public Works, or their designees may remove without notice any sign placed in the public right-of-way, on public property, or on a tree, utility pole or traffic sign in violation of §340-4.24 or §340-4.29.

2.     Abandonment. Anyone who places a prohibited sign gives up ownership of it. The town and its designees may remove and dispose of it without compensating anyone.

3.     Advertiser responsibility. The person who places a prohibited sign, and any person or business it advertises by name, phone number or website, are jointly responsible for fines and removal costs. A business can rebut this by showing it did not authorize the sign.

4.     No hiring around the rule. No one may pay or hire another person to place a prohibited sign.

5.     Per-sign fines. A fine for each sign, rising for repeat offenders within 12 months. The Council sets the amounts within the limits state law allows for town ordinances.

Part 3: The String That Holds It Together

Once the amendment authorizes designees to remove signs, the town can run a monthly sign round-ups, or simply keep it a constant opportunity.

•      Scout troops, PTOs, sports leagues and other local nonprofits register in advance.

•      Each group earns a small payment per sign removed, up to a cap, toward its own programs.

•      Volunteers log where they pulled each sign and photograph it. That record feeds the advertiser letters in Part 2 and any fines in Part 3.

•      Youth groups work with adult supervision and safety vests, and nobody works in an active traffic median.