ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Businesses – whether they are national, regional, or local small family-owned operations – are the lifeblood, and, some will say, the very heartbeat of our community. But for too many years, economic development languished and was not a priority for the city.
As a small business owner, I realized that that focus needed to change. So, one of my first priorities upon taking office was to bring the long-defunct Economic Development Department back to life, with a focus on making life easier for companies looking to do business here.
Today, the Department helps investors bring large-scale developments to life. But, they also work diligently to help the small businesses, which are so vital to our community, to succeed and thrive here. They assist with finding appropriately-zoned properties, navigate state and municipal permitting and licensing processing, and work with Realtors to suss out appropriately-zoned spaces.
And we are succeeding. Since I took office, we have seen, between new Certificates of Occupancy issued and Licensing permits approved, over 250 new businesses that are now calling Warwick home. Just since the summertime, there have been roughly a dozen new restaurants and cafes – most locally-owned and –operated – that have opened and are thriving here in Warwick (check out our nearly 200 dining options at visitwarwickri.com).
We assessed the hurdles that face companies that want to do business here, and focused on increasing staff support to facilitate and streamline the review process, so it doesn’t take months and months to start operating in our community. We want to embrace those who want to set up shop here in Warwick, and make it as easy as possible to do so.
If you look around in the past three-and-a-half years, you’ll see formerly empty storefronts and stand-alone properties not only filled and vibrant, but with terrific new façade improvement and beautiful landscaping! Those aesthetic improvements only help to enhance quality of life we all enjoy here in Warwick.
In addition to adding to the many benefits to the community, these new businesses have added millions of dollars to the tax base. The formula for taxes on properties is complicated when we prepare the annual budget, but, I can assure you, their addition to our city brings welcome tax relief!