Newport’s longtime Director of Public Services has been recognized as one of the nation’s top 10 public works leaders by the American Public Works Association.
William R. Riccio Jr., a professional engineer, was announced as a recipient of the APWA’s Top Ten Public Works Leaders of the Year award in the run-up to the annual national Public Works Week. He is the first Rhode Island public works professional to receive the honor.
The award is presented to 10 individuals from across the country in recognition of their professionalism, expertise and personal dedication to improving the quality of life in their communities through the advancement of public works services and technology.
“Bill Riccio’s leadership has had a lasting impact on virtually every aspect of Newport’s public infrastructure and quality of life,” Newport Mayor Charlie Holder said. “His professionalism, innovation, and commitment to public service have benefited generations of Newport residents, and this national recognition is exceptionally well deserved.”
Riccio has served as Newport’s Director of Public Services since 2007, overseeing engineering and capital projects, streets and sidewalks, parks, beaches, facilities, fleet operations, recreation and waste management. Before joining the city, he spent 17 years with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, where he oversaw large-scale highway projects and served as a bicycle design engineer.
During his tenure, Riccio established Newport’s first pavement management program, improving roadway condition from 47 percent acceptable to more than 75 percent. He implemented sidewalk hazard removal innovations that reduced trip-and-fall claims by 50 percent, oversaw accessibility improvements to public buildings and infrastructure and launched the ReportIt! Newport system, which allows residents to submit service requests through an online portal and app.
Following Superstorm Sandy in 2012, Riccio led the rebuilding of the Cliff Walk, and he is again leading a multimillion-dollar restoration of the walkway following a sudden collapse in 2022. Working within constrained municipal budgets, he has secured approximately $30 million in grant funding for various city capital projects, including a $13 million federal grant in 2024 to restore the Cliff Walk.
Riccio has also modernized Newport’s quality-of-life services by introducing automated waste collection, developing an energy efficiency program for the city’s historic street lights, spearheading a curbside municipal composting program and adopting salt brine treatment for winter road conditions. By initiating collaboration between the city and utility companies, he created a model to synchronize subsurface utility asset management with road improvements, an approach later presented as a working model for all of Rhode Island.
Riccio has served on National Transportation Research Board and National Cooperative Highway Research Program panels that helped shape updates to American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials pedestrian and bicycle facility planning and design guidelines. He has also been appointed by the governor to the Statewide Permitting Advisory Council and the state’s Energy Efficiency and Resource Management Council, and served on the Solid Waste Management Plan Advisory Committee and the 2003 Governor’s Fiscal Fitness Team. Locally, he spent more than a decade on the Johnston Municipal Planning Board, including eight years as chair.
He was the first recipient of the Rhode Island Public Works Leader of the Year Award through the APWA New England Chapter in 2024.
A 2015 graduate of Leadership Rhode Island, Riccio holds a Master of Science in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Rhode Island and a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering with high distinction from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He has also completed executive leadership programs at Harvard University, including its Senior Executives in State and Local Government program, and at Pennsylvania State University.
