No Applicants for Town Solicitor Position

January 3rd 2024

RICHMOND – With no applicants so far for the Town Solicitor position, Town Council members agreed at Tuesday’s meeting to extend the application deadline by two weeks, from Jan 5 to Jan. 19.

The current solicitor, Karen Ellsworth, who has served the town since 2005, withdrew her application for the renewal of her contract, which expires on Jan. 31.

Town Administrator Karen Pinch asked council members how they wished to proceed with the hiring process.

“I just want the council to discuss, and give me input on, how do you want to move forward with the hiring of a solicitor?” she said.” I did post an RFP but once those have come in, the [deadline] date is Friday.”

Pinch asked whether the council would prefer to discuss the applicants in executive session, and also be involved in the interviews.

Councilor Michael Colasante said he believed that the council should not simply receive a recommendation from the Town Administrator, but take a more active role,  choosing from a list of qualified candidates.

Quoting a section of the Home Rule Charter, Colasante said,

“The administrator shall submit a list of qualified candidates, not a recommendation, for department directors...I would like to see the administrator forward all the applicants and resumes and discuss setting up an interview process conducted by the Town Council members as a whole.”

Councilor Samantha Wilcox pointed out that the charter was referring to the hiring of department heads, and that the Town Solicitor is not a department head.

“Those quotes are regarding department heads,” she said. “Just for clarity, the Town Solicitor isn’t a department head, but an independent contractor.”

Wilcox added that the procedure would depend on the number of applications the town received.

Council President Mark Trimmer asked Pinch,

“Karen, how many do we have so far?”

“As of right now, there’s none,” Pinch said.

The council voted to extend the application deadline to Jan. 19.

Why No Applicants?

The reason for the dearth of Town Solicitor applicants depends on whom you ask.

“It might be our town’s reputation as being kind of volatile right now,” Trimmer said. “It wouldn’t be a nice place to work.”

Council Vice President Richard Nassaney agreed.

“I’m concerned that the optics of this council so far have been one where people don’t want to work together, so why is a solicitor going to run to the door to take the job? I think it’s going to be very difficult,” he said.

Wilcox was more optimistic, attributing the lack of applicants to the busy holiday season.

“It’s that time of year,” she said. “We posted the job mid-December and then we have a number of holidays at the end of the year, so it’s a frequent time to take vacations, frequent time to not really be looking for a job.”

But there’s another deadline looming. Ellsworth’s last day is Jan. 30 and without a single applicant, the town isn’t even close to finding a replacement.

“I was planning to give Karen Pinch a call today to try and figure out what our contingency was going to be,” Trimmer said.

EDC Resignations

The council voted without discussion, and without the customary “with regret,” to accept the resignations of Economic Development Commission President Bryan LeBeau and member Louise Dinsmore. In her six-page letter of resignation, Dinsmore focused her ire on Trimmer, Nassaney and Wilcox “who would rather play politics and refuse to prioritize economic development.”

Wilcox, who was singled out for additional criticism in Dinsmore’s letter, felt it necessary to submit a statement of her own, which she read at the council meeting.

Wilcox’s statement reads, in part,

“Ms. Dinsmore is entitled to her personal opinion about me and I’m not going to take that away from her but I would like to remind everyone that the EDC letter dated 11/10/2023 acknowledged the service and unwavering dedication of myself and Councilor Colasante. After the EDC presentation, I asked some questions via email and offered feedback that is available in their minutes. After the EDC meetings, I was thanked by multiple members for my input. For what it's worth, I attend all other commission and committee meetings periodically to check in, offer feedback and see if there is anything they need help with.”

There are now three vacancies on the commission.

Ethics Training

A Rhode Island Ethics Commission training session for council members and members of boards and commissions was scheduled for Jan. 30.

Colasante asked whether the training was voluntary and Town Clerk Erin Liesse replied,

“The Rhode Island Ethics reached out to me and highly suggested Richmond trainings,” she said.

Police Heroes Recognized

Two Richmond police officers were recognized by the Rhode Island Police Chiefs’ Association at a ceremony on Dec. 12 for saving the life of a man whose vehicle had crashed into the water.

Chief of Police and association member, Elwood Johnson, told the council that Sergeant William Litterio and Patrolman Anthony Meola, had received the Distinguished Service Award for rescuing a man whose car had gone off the bridge and crashed, upside down, in the water at Horseshoe Falls. The accident occurred at about 1 a.m. on July 1, 2023.

Johnson described the harrowing conditions that night.

“It actually went roof first into the water,” he said. “The river was swollen and the current was raging. A lot of people, even if you have footing, chest deep, swept away, you just can’t regain and it was pitch black.”

Johnson continued his account of the two officers’ rescue of the driver, a 38-year-old man who, at first, did not want any help.

“They put themselves at risk. They had to navigate down this heavily vegetated embankment, work to get to the closest point they could to get to the victim in the river. As they’re trying to get him to cooperate with them and catch a line that they were going to throw, he didn’t want to be bothered.  He was somewhat despondent and wanted to be left in the river to die.

These officers encouraged him, ‘Listen, you matter. Just do what we tell you. We’re going to get you to safety.’

They threw a line. He caught it. They gave him instructions to tie it around his waist and when he took his first step toward them, he submerged, but because the line was on him, they were able to pull him in and with his assistance, got him to safety.”

Johnson said the quick actions by the two officers prevented other first responders from being exposed to the dangerous conditions.

“The ceremonies were really nice,” he said. “Their families were there to witness this. It was great work by those two officers.”