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Central Falls council approves Tony Viera as acting public works director
Summary
The Central Falls City Council approved Mayor Rivera’s appointment of Tony Viera as acting director of the Department of Public Works and Code Enforcement after a presentation of his qualifications; the vote was 6-0.
The Central Falls City Council voted 6-0 to approve Mayor Rivera’s appointment of Tony Viera as acting director of the Department of Public Works and Code Enforcement at a council meeting. The council’s unanimous approval followed a presentation highlighting Viera’s technical experience and community ties.
City administration said the appointment followed a disciplined search that produced more than 30 qualified applicants, 15 phone screenings and four finalists who had multiple in-person interviews. A staff presenter said, “on behalf of the mayor, I'm excited to introduce our candidate for the position of director of Department of Public Works and Code Enforcement, Tony Viera.”
The presenter and council members emphasized Viera’s work history as superintendent of parks in East Providence, where he supervised a unionized workforce larger than Central Falls’ DPW and handled citywide winter snow operations. The presenter said those responsibilities made the administration confident in his technical qualifications.
Viera told the council he has long personal ties to the area and described plans for the department. “I'll probably conduct an internal audit of how things are being done,” he said, adding he wants to “streamline things so that folks … have access to important information, at the push of a button.” He also said he coached high school soccer for 13 years and on the Providence College women's staff for two seasons and that he is fluent in Portuguese.
Council members offered welcome and brief remarks before voting. Council President Perry called for the vote, and the roll call recorded six affirmative votes: Council person Perez, Council person Tejero, Council person Luis Lugo, Council person Lazar Martinez, Council person Diana and Council President Perry. The motion passed 6-0.
The council did not attach conditions or a public implementation schedule in the recorded discussion; Viera and administration staff said he planned an initial audit and said he had already been working with department staff since his selection.
