Graffiti crackdown, efficiency czar: Providence councilman unveils quality-of-life plan

Councilman John Goncalves is releasing a sweeping quality-of-life plan as he makes his bid for a second term, aimed at cracking down on departmental inefficiency, graffiti, neighborhood nuisances and more.

The 40-page document, provided to The Providence Journal earlier this week and set to be made public on Thursday morning, drew from telephone and online surveys of nearly 600 residents across the city who prioritized education, climate, housing and public safety.

The plan delves into those areas and a slew of others, though among its most novel points is a focus on pushing city departments to move more forcefully to address resident complaints. Goncalves is calling for the creation of an "Efficiency and IT Czar" who would conduct quarterly data-based audits of various departments to make sure they're running properly.

In an interview Wednesday, Goncalves pointed to 311 as an example, noting that his constituents have complained about their tickets not being properly resolved. The czar, in theory, would "continuously uncover human inefficiency in government" and recommend ways to streamline services, the plan says.

However, Goncalves acknowledged that "it might make people feel uncomfortable, particularly when you’ve got department leaders who’ve been around for a very long time."

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The councilman also wants residents to be able to leave online reviews when they're irked about poor service, similar to when businesses ask customers to offer feedback on surveys.

"I think what constituents should ... be able to do is login to 311 and say, 'You know what, the customer service was poor, I'm going to give this department maybe a B or maybe a C or maybe even an F,'" Goncalves explained.

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Graffiti, a longstanding issue for the city, is another of the councilman's targets. The city has addressed more than 4,000 cases of graffiti since Mayor Jorge Elorza took office in 2016. Currently, the graffiti task force, which uses paint and power washers to eliminate vandalism, has only four members.

Goncalves wants to quadruple the size of the team, and employ a proactive approach by which staff would be "constantly just roaming around the city and cleaning the stuff up as soon as it goes up."

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"If you’re someone who knows that this particular spot is going to get graffitied every week and you’re someone who’s constantly putting in the tickets for that, then it’s inefficient for government to constantly have to go out and take care of that," he said.

The councilman's plan also encourages the creation of public art through a "Paint Program" that would allow residents to "beautify their neighborhoods."

Other items in his plan, including environmental goals

Other day-to-day city nuisances are covered in the plan, including ATVs, a perpetual struggle for Providence police and departments in other cities. Goncalves' plan calls for the creation of a hotline for tips, and $100 cash rewards for tipsters who provide information that helps police confiscate ATVs. The councilman also wants to look for a recreational space where owners could ride legally, though he said "it doesn’t seem like it’s feasible" right now.

Other parts of the plan's initiatives are broader and may require action by state lawmakers if they were to be achieved. Those include free Pre-K for all, which Goncalves thinks could be achieved with state and federal funds, and dramatically accelerating the city's carbon neutrality goal from 2050 to 2040.

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The Elorza administration's Climate Justice Plan outlines its carbon neutrality goal and a host of other environmental initiatives related to renewable energy, transit, housing and other areas. Goncalves is supportive of the plan, but feels the 2050 timeline is too slow.

The councilman is set to release further details on his environmental goals with another plan, which totals 50 pages and includes 15 initiatives. The Journal was able to preview the plan, which has similarities to that of the administration, and calls for expanding tree canopies, building stormwater infrastructure, increasing healthy food access, and other actions.

Angie Cespedes, who filed to run for Goncalves' seat in the general election as an Independent but ultimately did not gain enough signatures to be on the ballot, said she supports the councilman's quality of life plan – elements of which The Journal shared with her ahead of the plan's release. However, she noted that her main focus is on launching an effort to "remove any property that has been abandoned or not used," such as "buildings, offices, and churches that have been empty for years."

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Cespedes also emphasized a need for better homeless services and more programs for people struggling with mental illness.

On Goncalves' graffiti initiative, Cespedes said "adding more police to patrol for vandalism" would be a better idea than the councilman's approach.

Near the end of Goncalves' interview on Providence's pedestrian bridge, he paused to chat with constituent Kathleen Gerard who moved from New York City to escape the noise — another local frustration the councilman hopes to combat, perhaps with the creation of a city panel of experts to develop noise control policies.

In the meantime, for an evidently exasperated Gerard, it's still an issue.

"I think the real kind of visceral, emotional response that we get from people — that tells you all that you need to know," Goncalves said.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence councilman John Goncalves releases quality of life plan