Tiverton Rep. Introduces Package Of Bills To Help Town

TIVERTON, RI — Tiverton's state representative introduced a package of bills in the Rhode Island House of Representatives aimed at addressing several municipal issues in the town.

If approved, the first bill would allow the state's Department of Environmental Management to extend sewer construction and cesspool replacement deadlines. The deadlines would be no later than Jan. 1, 2026.

"With a new sewer system coming to parts of Tiverton, this bill would relieve home sellers and home buyers from having to upgrade their septic systems during property transfers," Rep. John Edwards said. "It’s unnecessary to force these people to upgrade their septic systems, when they’ll be upgrading to sewers soon."

The second bill would allow the Stone Bridge Fire District to borrow up to $100,000 to cover certain short-term financial obligations.

"Some immediate financial needs of the fire district relating to the pandemic have popped up, and the borrowing has been endorsed by the Town Council," Edwards said. "Since they’re a quasi-government organization, the borrowing needs to be approved by the General Assembly. It would also have to be approved by the voters at the district’s annual meeting."

The third bill would allow school committees to add items to their meeting agendas for discussion only, without the requirement to publish notices for the additional items. This would not apply to items that require a vote.

"Under current law, schools committees are the only public body that aren’t allowed to do this," Edwards explained. “This has become more of an issue during the pandemic, where school committees have needed to discuss — but not vote on — issues that crop up."

The fourth and final bill would allow cities and towns the ability to voluntarily dedicate a park, conservation or other land parcel as public trust land, protecting it in perpetuity.

"Tiverton has a very long history with land trusts and preserving land," Edwards said. "The town has put away hundreds of acres for open space. This is enabling legislation that will help the environment by allowing cities and town to preserve open land for future use by protecting it permanently."