Happy Spring! Providence & Ward 3 Updates!

Hello Friends & Neighbors,

Spring is finally starting to arrive. April is a time of so many celebrations with family and friends - Easter, Passover, Earth Day - and with the nicer weather, it's so wonderful to see so many neighbors out walking or spending time in the parks.

I know that this is also a troubling and uncertain time. I hear regularly from neighbors about the effects of what's happening at the federal government are having on their lives -- federal workers losing their jobs, important programs and funding being slashed, universities and students being threatened, and more. I hear you and feel you. One of the things I love most about our community is our diversity across race, gender, religion, and so many other attributes. And right now, building community and getting engaged locally is one of the best things we can do -- attending Town Halls and listening to neighbors, meeting new people at a park, organizing activities on your block,  supporting your neighbors and advocating on their behalf, making time to participate in the spring holidays and celebrations and come together with friends and family.  

Let's keep taking of each other, friends.  

As always, there's a lot going on in Providence, so I'll jump right in.

Providence's FY 26 Budget

As I've described previously, the City's annual budget cycle is July 1 - June 30th. The City Charter requires the Mayor to deliver his proposed budget to the Council by mid-April for the next fiscal year. He gave his budget address this past Wednesday, and the Council has received his budget (which is presented as a series of several ordinances, linked here).

For the next several weeks, the Finance Committee (of which I am a member, and chaired by Ward 2 City Councilwoman Helen Anthony) will carefully review each department's budget in a series of public meetings.  

Chairwoman Anthony & her team put together a really helpful budget process explainer, which you can find at this link.

We also have our complete schedule for Finance Committee review, linked here.

The two public hearings are currently scheduled for 5:30pm on May 6th (on the Mayor's proposed budget) and June 9th (on the Council's amended version). You can also send written testimony any time to the Clerk at cityclerk@providenceri.gov

As I've shared previously, this is a difficult budget year. As in prior years, I will be spending significant amounts of time poring over the budget details and evaluating options. Thank you to everyone who has already shared their feedback with me directly. Please keep it coming! If you dig into the proposed budget and have specific questions that you would like me to ask in Committee, please also feel welcome to email those to me.  

Earth Day Events:

April is Earth Month! There are things big & small we can do to protect the Earth & our local communities!

Check out the Earth Day message I shared in the weekly RI Democratic Party Newsletter this past week at this link!

Earth Day at Lippitt Park on April 26th!

Join the newly formed Friends of Lippitt Park to celebrate Earth Day with games, food, and more. See flier for details.

Earth Day at North Burial Ground - April 27th 10-1pm!

Join us at North Burial Ground to help get the pollinator garden ready for spring!  I'll be providing some breakfast treats for all who attend! Meet at the Rochambeau Gate! Please take a moment to fill out this sign up sheet so we know how many folks to expect.

Upcoming Meetings & Events:

• First Annual Friends of Lippitt Park Annual Meeting:  Monday, April 21, 6-7pm at the Vincent Brown Rec Center. Join the Friends of Lippitt Park to elect their first ever board of directors, meet neighbors, and dream big about Lippitt Park!

• Summit Neighborhood Association Annual Meeting: Monday, April 28th from 7-8:30pm at the Highlands! All welcome! Questions about SNA, reach out to SNA President Sherry Waldman: snaprov@gmail.com

• Community Meeting to Discuss Improvements to Billy Taylor Park:  May 7th at 5:30pm at Billy Taylor Park on Camp Street.

• Fundraiser for MLK Parent Teacher Organization - April 29th at Flatbread Pizza off Thayer Street: Skip making dinner on Tuesday April 29th and pop by Flatbread Pizza to chat with community members and support your neighborhood MLK Elementary School!

• Build the Bench - April 24th at 6pm with the RI Democratic Party! Interested in building the bench of our next Democratic leaders? I am proud to be on the host committee of this event sponsored by the RI Democratic Party, featuring David Hogg on April 24th at 6pm. See flier and Facebook event page for details!

Updates!

Town Hall Follow up:

A big thank you to the well-over 100 neighbors who joined RI House Speaker Shekarchi and I for our Town Hall on April 7th! It was a great evening focused mostly on housing policy - and you all asked some really insightful questions.  If you missed it and would like to hear the conversation - you can watch it on Capitol TV at this link or read the transcript from Steve Ahlquist's substack here.

• Council President Miller & I responded together to a survey from the Department of Housing about how to spend the state's housing bond. We advocate for investment along major transit corridors - particularly North Main Street in Ward 3.  Check out our shared letter (which was accompanied by a detailed survey) here.

• Paving and Sidewalks: The season when the City and utilities can implement infrastructure projects starts at the end of March (driven by the weather!). I'm sure you've been seeing the road and sidewalk construction across the neighborhoods. Thank you for your patience during construction so we can have these good improvements in our neighborhoods!

• On-Street Parking by Moses Brown: Thank you to the many neighbors who have reached out to me about the new parking restrictions on Morris and Olney. Many residents have reached out to me over the last few years with concerns about parking availability for residents with an overabundance of staff and students at Moses Brown and Wheeler - and I discussed potential solutions with the Department of Public Works. I'm listening to your feedback and also meeting with Moses Brown and we will come up with solutions that work for the neighborhood. Please reach out any time with feedback/ideas!

• City Council actions!  The Council has been hard at work -- and after every full meeting, our team posts links to the ordinances and resolutions that have passed. The volume can be quite high - so while I try to keep you informed here, definitely check out the Council's News Page and also the City's Open Meetings Portal for details!

Gratitude

As always, I am so inspired by this community - your level of engagement and your concern for each other and this City and State. I am grateful every day for the opportunity to serve our City. Please do reach out any time if I can be helpful - I reply back as quickly as possible (and often catch up on weekends). Between newsletters, you can find updates on my Facebook page and my Bluesky.

With Gratitude,

Councilor Sue AnderBois

Deputy Majority Whip, Providence City Council