All councilors now have new town issued emails. Mine is swilcox@richmondri.com 

Chariho School Budget

Vote on April 4th between 8am-8pm at the Richmond Town Hall for the Chariho Budget! FAQs regarding the budget can be found here.

“Public Education is about funding student access and opportunity” – Superintendent of the Chariho Regional School District

Important Upcoming Budget Work Sessions and Hearing Dates for the Richmond Municipal Budget.

     * April 5th & 10th at 5pm – Municipal Budget Workshop – This is a workshop for council to discuss and make suggestions re the budget. The opportunity for public discussion or input is the following two dates:
* April 18th at 6pm – 1st Public Hearing on the Municipal Budget
* May 2nd at 6pm – 2nd Public Hearing on the Municipal Budget 
     * June 5th 8am-8pm – All-Day Budget Referendum – Vote at Richmond Town Hall

Add all these events to your Google Calendar by clicking here.

Economic Development

We can all agree that Economic Development is an important part of Richmond’s future. Over the past few months, I have been proactively reaching out and building relationships with various interested parties and attending events hosted by the Southern RI Chamber of Commerce. I started these conversations to learn more about what we can do together to help our local businesses thrive.

These initiatives are valuable but it’s important to remember no person can force a private property owner to build but we can work collaboratively to find solutions that meet both their needs and the town’s needs. The Economic Development Commission will be joining the council on March 21st to review what they have been working on to assist with the town’s goals that are listed in the Comprehensive Community Plan.

In the meantime, we should embrace the businesses we do have and support the ones we love. Over this past week, Richmond had two businesses celebrate their openings with ribbon cutting ceremonies. Congratulations to all involved!

United Way 211 Van

I coordinated the 211 Van to come to Richmond Town Hall (5 Richmond Townhouse Road) every 2nd Monday from 12:30 to 3:30 pm. In March, they will be coming on the 3rd Monday, however in April it will return to the 2nd Monday. It had a busy first day, in February, which included 15 visitors. The director of this service is excited to collaborate with the Human Services Director, when hired.  

Please stop by if you would like to see if they can help you or a neighbor in any way. 

Human Services Director

On February 21st, a motion to eliminate the Human Services Director position failed.  This position was approved during the prior council’s term and is being paid for through the Town’s ARPA funds.  It is a trial and will end after 3 years if it does not work out for whatever reason determined at that time.  Current Council members discussed concerns and benefits at length at both our December 20, 2022 meeting and February 21, 2023. At both meetings, myself and members of the community championed for this position.  The majority of Council agreed to move forward with it.

I am excited to see where this position goes, the assistance it brings to residents and for the opportunity to free up the time of the Town Administrator, Police and other town employees.