For over 4 decades, I have both worked for and advised mayors, town managers, and town councils on various community and economic development challenges and opportunities. Corporate parks, tech centers, corporate-sponsored childcare centers, revitalization strategies for mill villages, municipal representation in corporate negotiations, and serving as the chief executive officer of a private corporation are a sampling of the leadership experience I would bring to the Office of Town Administrator. Add to my professional experience graduate degrees in regional planning, business administration, and a doctorate degree in business administration.

It’s simple. Lead by example in demonstrating the highest standards of transparency and accountability in town governance. My administration will operate in strict adherence to Rhode  Island’s laws and regulations as they pertain to Open Meetings and Access to Public Records. I will operate with an open-door policy with the public and will prioritize a fully vetted and adopted employee handbook and operating procedures and policies to ensure that our promises and obligations are not only met, but exceeded. I want to build trust and respect with our residents, Town Council, and the men and women that work for our town..

The Town Charter designates the role of the Town Administrator as enforcing the laws and regulations of the Town and administrating Town Hall operations. My main priorities will be to transform the operations of Town Hall including the adoption of a new, employee handbook and to create operating rules and procedures to ensure the highest level of effectiveness and accountability. I also want to develop a strong, collaborative relationship with the Town Council. Our success depends on working together, not against each other.

I also want to assist in the review and update of land use regulations that better communicate the type of development that maximizes tax revenues and protects the town’s character. We need to support good development while being very clear about the type of development we do not want. Finally, we need to be very proactive in maintaining our town-owned assets including our infrastructure, buildings, and passive and active recreation areas.

We need to spend and invest our resources wisely. Just as our residents must live within their means, so must Town government. We also must wisely invest in our public facilities to meet the needs of our residents and to enhance our quality of life. We also need to embrace the need to add to our tax base with new business investment. Our failure to increase and diversify our tax base will result in escalating residential property taxes, which will adversely impact all residents.

The answer to this question is simple. My experience and background make me uniquely qualified to serve as your Town Administrator. Although there will be efforts to minimize my qualifications -  for political reasons - a review of my background should provide all the proof you need. I am asking for your vote. I promise to make you proud of your vote.

Scott A Gibbs has announced his candidacy for North Smithfield Town Administrator.

Gibbs is currently the President of The Economic Development Foundation of Rhode Island and has been a resident of North Smithfield for 35 years.

Gibbs would bring to the Town Administrator position over 4 decades of working with local government, state government, nonprofit and private sectors in identifying and addressing economic and community development problems and opportunities. Gibbs began his career hired by the Mayor of Chicopee Massachusetts to design and manage the City’s inaugural economic development program. The program received a National Merit Award for Creative Public Private Partnerships from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Gibbs was subsequently recruited to assume the position of Executive Director of the Woonsocket Industrial Development Corporation and Vice President of the Greater Woonsocket Chamber of Commerce. Gibbs strategized and managed the merger of the Greater Woonsocket Chamber of Commerce and the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce into the Northern Rhode Island Chamber. Gibbs also managed the merger of the Woonsocket Industrial Development Corporation and the Blackstone Valley Development Foundation into The Economic Development Foundation of Rhode Island.

Gibbs was responsible for the development of the Highland Industrial Park and its expansion into Cumberland as the Highland Corporate Parks. Gibbs also developed the Highland Park Children’s Center as the first corporate sponsored childcare center in Rhode Island and was engaged by the City of Newport as the preferred developer for the Innovate Newport project. Innovate Newport entailed the $8 million rehabilitation and repurposing of the historic Sheffield School on Broadway into a technology center. Gibbs has also authored two redevelopment plans to facilitate reinvestment into two historic mill villages in Burrillville.

Gibbs has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Wabash College (IN) with a major in political science. Gibbs has also been awarded a Masters in Regional Planning (MRP) from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst and a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Suffolk University in Boston. Gibbs received his Doctorate Degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix in 2017.

Gibbs stated that his purpose for running for the Town Administrator position is to lead a culture of professionalism, responsiveness, and effectiveness in Town Hall. Gibbs explained that he wants to create a statewide reputation of excellence for North Smithfield Town Hall, which should be the expectation of all residents and taxpayers. Gibbs also indicated his desire to forge an open, collaborative relationship with the Town Council and the various boards and commissions in discussing and strategizing North Smithfield’s future. Gibbs explained that the world is changing at an increasing rate and that the Town can either control change or be controlled by it. As stated by Gibbs, my wife and I have raised three kids in the Town’s school system and sports programs. We have fond feelings for North Smithfield, and we want the Town to continue to prioritize a high quality of life, a diversified and strong fiscal base, and a community culture of kindness and civility. If elected as North Smithfield’s Town Administrator, Gibbs pledged to lead by example.

Gibbs Releases Town Governance Platform 

The vision is to create a Town Hall that is recognized internally and externally as the best in Rhode Island. Organizations are only as good as the people who work within these organizations. For organizations to be high-performing, the people who work within these organizations must feel respected and valued. Also, people who work within these organizations must believe that they are part of something bigger than themselves. In other words, part of an organization that is committed to being the best and providing the highest quality service to residents. It is the Town Administrator’s responsibility to be a leader in creating such an organization.

All employees in the Town government deserve to be treated with respect and in a manner consistent with the Town’s employee handbook including administrative policies pertaining to harassment in the workplace. The employee handbook must be reviewed by legal counsel and approved by the Town Counsel as a public policy. Employees in Town Hall and Public Works should have a current copy of the employee handbook and indicate by appropriate means that they have read and understand the handbook. These employees should also participate in an annual, online training program regarding harassment in the workplace. These requirements will need to be coordinated with the appropriate bargaining unit for employees who are members of a union.

People and businesses that interact with the Town need to be documented. By using readily available technology, contacts – customers – are documented including what they are seeking, what are their concerns, and how and when the Town can satisfy their needs. The Town Administrator and his/her team can check on an ongoing basis whether deadlines are met and whether customers are satisfied. Not only does such a system ensure that the Town Hall meets the expectations of customers, but it also enables the Town to follow customer needs and concerns and make changes as part of a process of continuous improvement.

The team in Town Hall needs to have a clearly defined set of rules and procedures to follow to ensure that the operations of Town Hall are efficiently and effectively delivered. It is the responsibility of the Town Administrator to engage all members of his/her team in the identification and critical analysis of how Town business is typically carried out and how it can be improved. The conclusions of this process need to be documented and used as a guideline for all team members to follow. If it can’t be measured, it can’t be improved.

It is the responsibility of the Town Administrator to execute the laws of the Town and to administer the operations of the Town Government. The Town Administrator must also provide the Town Council with the appropriate information, data, and analysis that is critical to the Town Council’s ability to conduct thorough and fair discussions concerning issues and take legislative action.

With forty-plus years of demonstrated experience and success in managing complex projects and initiatives, including managing and coordinating a diversity of stakeholders, I am uniquely qualified and skilled to fulfill the responsibilities of the Town Administrator.

Gibbs Releases Development Platform

The ability to effectively manage a Town means meeting the existing needs and concerns of residents as well as making important future investments in infrastructure, public facilities, and educational resources. That must include controlling costs and demanding efficiencies, but it also includes growing tax revenues. Without new business tax resources, residential property tax rates will spiral upward.

North Smithfield’s existing Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance define where and how properties in town are to be developed or redeveloped. Our challenge is to design strategies to facilitate development and to optimize the type and quality of development that maximizes property tax revenues and reinforces North Smithfield’s character and quality of life.

The Town of North Smithfield needs to build on its Comprehensive Plan to be more detailed as it relates to the specific steps and investments it needs to make to enhance the development potential of its existing areas zoned for good business.

The Route 146 corridor, Industrial Drive, plus the Slatersville and Branch Village commercial nodes are areas that require focus. Possible modifications to regulatory standards and processes should be discussed along with possible public investments to spark private investment and development. Quality business development can add to North Smithfield’s fiscal strength and enable the Town to make important investments that preserve and enhance the town’s rural values and quality of life. 

I believe my extensive education and career experience provide a unique opportunity for me to guide North Smithfield forward. As the next Town Administrator, I will work to affect a sound future financial platform to match our comprehensive plan, using the expertise that I have developed over 40 years to understand the nuances of public and private activity that can make great things happen. Through collaborative and transparent leadership, I can provide the necessary analysis and strategic thinking to guide the Town Council and our boards and commissions to create the best possible community.

The primary difference between business and government is that business is profit driven while government is not for profit. Other than this obvious difference, both business and government have customers and employees and should be driven by the pursuit of efficiency, effectiveness, accountability, and transparency.

There is an additional difference however and it relates to how we measure the financial performance of business and government. There are various metrics we can use to measure a business’ financial health including net worth, which equals assets less liabilities. For government the focus is typically on revenues and expenses and the ability to balance the two so that tax increases can be effectively managed. What is typically ignored in public sector accounting is the value of a government’s assets. Not continually measuring the value of public assets can result in a dangerous miscalculation of a government’s long-term financial health.

Local government assets include cash assets – financial reserves – as well as its roads, sewers and water infrastructure, public buildings including schools, recreational land and public-owned open space, and equipment. In most cases these public assets depreciate every year due to wear and tear as well as functional obsolescence. Therefore, local government must be adept at tracking this depreciation to be proactive in maintaining, updating, and replacing these depreciating assets. By establishing a comprehensive, accurate, and transparent accounting of public assets, public funds can be set aside to underwrite future, expected costs. This accounting should be integrated into the annual budgeting process.

Imagine an annual budgeting process that not only includes projected revenues and expenses, but also a statement of public asset values. Not only will such a process track our revenue and expense trends but also the trend of the community’s wealth, meaning its asset values minus its liabilities. I have decades of experience in managing both building assets and infrastructure. When elected, I will use my experience to work closely with the Town Council and Assets Management Committee to bring even greater transparency, data, and professionalism to the Town’s budgeting and financial management systems.