EAST PROVIDENCE — Former city manager and current Waterfront Commission chairman Bill Fazioli has been hired by Mayor Bob DaSilva to serve as the first director of the city’s newly formed …
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EAST PROVIDENCE — Former city manager and current Waterfront Commission chairman Bill Fazioli has been hired by Mayor Bob DaSilva to serve as the first director of the city’s newly formed Planning and Economic Development Department.
Mr. Fazioli will be responsible for overseeing development opportunities and business growth in the city and identify opportunities to expand development for arts and culture within the city.
The City Council just recently approved the reconfiguration of the Planning Department, formally adding the economic development duties to the director's role. Mr. Fazioli, in the near term, replaces Diane Feather, who recently announced her retirement after nearly three decades as a Planning employee, the last few serving as acting department director. Jeanne Boyle was the last full-time Planning director, before leaving the post in June of 2017 for a job in Pawtucket similar to the one Mr. Fazioli will now have in city.
“I believe that Mr. Fazioli’s skills and experience both as the chairman of the East Providence Waterfront Commission and as a financial consultant to municipal governments will only boost the city in being the desirable community to live, work, educate and raise a family,” Mayor DaSilva said.
As a member of the commission, Mr. Fazioli was tasked with transforming the district into a model of urban revitalization by championing the commission’s mission to redevelop 300 acres of vacant property.
Mr. Fazioli served as city manager of East Providence from 2004-2006, where he successfully attracted a new operations center for a major bank, which added hundreds of jobs to the workforce. He has been a Waterfront Commission member since its inception in 2004 and served as its interim chair for several years before being seated permanently to the position by state and local officials in 2018.
“I am extremely excited about the opportunity to contribute to Mayor DaSilva’s vision to expand the city’s tax base and increase job opportunities for its residents,” Mr. Fazioli said. “In a short period of time, the mayor, along with the steadfast efforts of the Planning Department under the direction of Diane Feather have created a strong pipeline of compelling projects that can transform East Providence.
“I plan to build on the city's strong assets including its waterfront, blossoming arts and culture community and strong fiscal condition."
Prior to joining the city in this new capacity, Mr. Fazioli was director at Public Financial Advisors PFM, a municipal advisory firm in Providence. Before that he was senior vice president at First Southwest (Hilltop Holdings), where he advised municipal and local government clients on fiscal management.
Mr. Fazioli earned a master’s degree in public administration from Rockefeller College of Public Affairs, University of New York at Albany and a bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology from Rhode Island College.