NORTH SMITHFIELD – A new board tasked with evaluating the town charter with a goal of recommending any needed amendments is set to begin their work this month, with a first meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 29.
The Charter Review Committee will review the document that serves as North Smithfield’s constitution, just the start of a long process required to change it. The board will ultimately present recommendations to the Town Council sometime next year for potential inclusion of questions on the November 2026 ballot, where voters will have the final say.
The resolution enabling the process notes that it is beneficial to review the charter periodically to ensure consistency, clarity and compatibility with current state and federal law.
“We’ll come with a series of questions that we feel should go on the ballot,” explained Councilor Rebecca DeCristofaro, who will serve as liaison to the CRC, at the recent Town Council meeting.
The initiative to once again review the charter was started last year by former Councilor Douglas Osier amid discussions of potential changes such as the switch from a town administrator to a town manager form of leadership. Initial talks of putting that question – which has gone before voters but failed in the past – on the ballot last year were ultimately set aside in hopes to focus on the larger charter effort.
Osier was unsuccessful is his bid for reelection last November, and at recent meetings, DeCristofaro has looked for guidance in how to move forward where he left off. DeCristofaro said she spoke with Osier to understand some of the priorities, which, in addition to the town manager question, include a look at creating staggered term limits for councilors, changes to the budget timeline, and how to handle future council resignations.
“Those were some of the early recommendations for the Charter Review Committee,” DeCristofaro said. “The charter is pretty lengthy, so we really do want to focus our efforts to ensure that we’re prioritizing accordingly.”
Town Solicitor David Igliozzi agreed with the need for focus, and highlighted another concern, noting he has watched North Smithfield go through the process twice. Igliozzi said that the last such committee spent more than a year reviewing the document, recommending 53 potential changes, including many addressing outdated language.
But when they tried to present the work to the council, “It started to get too convoluted – too in the weeds – and they ended up picking a handful of topics and discarding all the rest of the work,” said Igliozzi.
“The charter still has inconsistencies with state law,” he said, noting that when it comes to such conflicts, Rhode Island law takes precedent. “I think you want to be very focused on what you want to accomplish.”
Igliozzi said the committee should consider working with firm General Code to help develop new potential charter language, and to create appropriate presentations for both the council and then later, the ballot.
“I’m trying to make sure you get the most out of your effort,” said the solicitor. “The committee was a little frustrated last time.”
Finance Director Antony St. Onge pointed out that “General Code is expensive,” noting the cost will need to be budgeted.
DeCristofaro said the committee will consider engaging the firm later in the process.
Town Administrator Scott Gibbs said the administration also expects to have requests for the board.
“You outlined the big, big things, but there are so many other things that the administration and this team wants to talk about that impact the operations of town hall,” Gibbs said during discussion of the topic at a council meeting in April.
When the details of the process were discussed again last week, Gibbs reminded DeCristofaro to include the team.
“It’s one thing to sit on the outside and come up with ideas,” Gibbs said. “It’s another thing to be on the inside and understand where the real problems are.”
“I think this process should be clean and transparent, and I don’t think the administration should be sitting there with possible accusations that it’s being controlled or manipulated for one’s own benefit,” Gibbs added. “I just want to make sure that we’re included.”
In terms of timeline, Igliozzi noted that all potential ballot questions must be delivered to the state Board of Elections by next August.
DeCristofaro noted that the committee’s first meeting will begin at 6 p.m. May 29, in the town council chambers.
“We’re going to use that time, obviously to meet for the first time, and then to align on some of the focus area that we discussed at our last Town Council meeting,” DeCristofaro said.
Others on the five member volunteer board appointed by the council earlier this year include Kevin Newton, Jeffrey Porter, Gregory Burnep and Elizabeth Newberry.
