The Providence City Council unanimously passed an ordinance for the second time Thursday night to create a position for a new environmental manager responsible for reducing the city's energy consumption and lowering utility operating costs.
The city energy and sustainability manager will oversee the city's yearly energy expenditure - currently about $14 million a year - to maximize efficiency and conservation, according to Councilman Seth Yurdin, D-Ward 1, who proposed creating the position in September. The manager will also work with heads of other city departments who "currently do not have the necessary expertise" to make such decisions, Yurdin said.
"It's always a challenge to make changes," he said. "We really have to empower someone to step in and do it."
Funding for the position, which Yurdin said will be a long-term investment, was allotted by the council in the most recent city budget.
The ordinance requires that the manager have at least five years of experience in energy management and a degree in environmental science, resource management or public affairs, according to a press release. The council has not yet considered candidates for the position, Yurdin said.
"We're not creating bureaucracy," he said, adding that a decrease of even 1 percent in energy expenditures would easily make up for the annual salary of approximately $80,000.
"Every dollar we save in utility costs is a dollar we can put towards improving our schools, fixing our roads and lowering our taxes," Yurdin said in the press release.
Besides managing energy expenditures, the manager will act as an environmental watchdog for the city, documenting natural resource use, recommending conservation policies and monitoring the implementation and enforcement of green initiatives.
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