Fall River chosen for national pilot program to help revive cities

Fall River is one of four municipalities nationwide chosen for a pilot program to help revive struggling cities.

Representatives of the National Resource Network, part of the Obama administration’s Strong Cities, Strong Communities program, have been working with Fall River since January. In May, they spent two days meeting with Mayor William Flanagan, City Administrator Cathy Ann Viveiros, Police Chief Daniel Racine and School Superintendent Margery Mayo-Brown.

In a statement, Flanagan noted that in recent years the city has seen a decrease in unemployment, an increase in high school graduation rates, and improvements to the city’s infrastructure.

“These all touch on priorities that we identified to the NRN team, and we are pleased that the team will be working with the city and the Fall River Public Schools to help us continue this momentum that will make us a stronger community,” Flanagan said.

The National Resource Network expects to complete a detailed report on behalf of Fall River by the end of July.

Among the National Resource Network’s initial recommendations is the creation of a multiyear finance and operations plan – a project that the city had already started on, according to Jane DiBiasio, the city’s grant writer.

Fall River established contact with federal officials in July of last year, when the city was invited to apply to the White House’s Strong Cities, Strong Communities technical-assistance grant program.

While Fall River failed to obtain the grant, the city’s application was strong enough to attract interest for the newly created National Resources Network program, DiBiasio said. The program is affiliated with the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University.

“The network partners with American cities that are rounding the corner from major economic challenges to help them identify and implement new and practical solutions to facilitate their path to economic recovery and growth,” the program states on its website (www.nationalresourcenetwork.org). “The network deploys teams of private and public sector experts to work with cities on-the-ground to implement locally identified projects and initiatives that will deliver economic benefits in the near term.”

The other cities chosen for the pilot were Miami; Kansas City, Kan.; and two neighboring Southern California cities, Compton and Lynnwood.