Meet our New City Manager, Richard Kirby.

This week, we have welcomed a new City Manager here in East Providence, Mr. Richard Kirby of Rumford.  As a way of getting to know him, we asked him a few questions to help our residents familiarize themselves with him and hear about his plans to keep the City moving in the right direction. 

Question #1: What are you most looking forward to in your new position?

Mr. Kirby: "I'm really honored that the Council selected me from the pool of applicants they had and I'm really looking forward to working in a collaborative manner with the Council, the various Department Heads, and every City employee.  The City has gone through a lot in the past years and some fine things have been done and I'm looking forward to continuing on and helping the Departments and the Council troubleshoot problems together in growing the City economically and as a great place to live.  Just this morning, we were down at Village on the Waterfront, the new waterfront development, and I am encouraged to see the improvements taking place in our city.  As any successful enterprise does, I intend to set long term plans and short term goals that address our infrastructure needs, educational goals, and cultural/recreational needs to continue to make East Providence a great place to live and a place that businesses want to come to.  I'm really excited, I couldn't wait to get here."

Question #2: What does it mean to you, as a Townie, to be working in East Providence?

Mr. Kirby: "It's really humbling and overwhelming.  To be a resident of the City, it will give me the opportunity to run into my fellow residents in the community not only at city meetings, but at the grocery store or the local coffee shop.  I love being active in our community, I feel I'm very approachable, so I look forward to having discussions with my fellow residents and hearing from them how we can improve."

Question #3: What do you hope to accomplish as the City Manager?

Mr. Kirby: " I want to instill pride in our City and do what's best for our residents.  I plan on making fair decisions for the community and be an active listener when engaging our residents.  I value feedback as it will help to shape decisions whether from Kent Heights, from Riverside, or a member of the soccer team, I appreciate feedback as it will help us work together on making our City a place we are all proud to call home."

Question #4: What is the one thing you would like to say to the residents of East Providence?

Mr. Kirby: "I'm going to work very hard to make you proud of me and proud of our City.  Please feel free to contact me at any time." 

Welcome to your new position with the City of East Providence, Mr. Kirby.