(WJAR) — Rhode Island mayors are spending taxpayer dollars on out-of-state travel, attending conferences, summits, and networking events across the country while away from the cities they were elected to lead.

Public records obtained by the NBC 10 I-Team shows the mayors of Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls used public funds for out-of-state travel between March 2025 and March 2026. The mayors of Cranston, East Providence, and North Providence traveled out of state during that period but reported spending no taxpayer money on those trips.

Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien spent $5,061.60 tied to 20 days of out-of-state travel, including $2,676.39 in city funds.

Grebien’s trips included the AGRIP Conference with the Rhode Island Interlocal Trust, Rhode Island Day in Washington, a Business Leaders Day conference hosted by U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a Veterans Honor Flight, and a medical mission to Cape Verde with Project Health.

“I try to use the least amount of city dollars, use some campaign, and then put some of the private as well,” Grebien said. “I do understand the perception, and that’s why I’m very, very careful.”

Asked how much time at conferences is spent working versus networking, Grebien said, “It’s probably honestly 60-40, 60% work and 40% off time by the time you get everything going.”

Several Rhode Island mayors attended Rhode Island Day in Washington alongside the state’s congressional delegation, despite lawmakers regularly returning to Rhode Island.

Grebien defended the trips as an opportunity to meet federal officials and pursue funding opportunities for the city.

“We are able on those days to go down and meet with department heads, so we have a lot of grants that we are in front of — HUD, the National Park Service — so it gives us that opportunity while we are there to do that,” he said.

Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien spent $5,061.60 tied to 20 days of out-of-state travel, including $2,676.39 in city funds. (WJAR)

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley spent more than 30 days out of state during the one-year period, according to records.

“Most of my travel is with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which is hugely valuable,” Smiley said.

Invoices show Smiley attended five conferences or summits across the country, more than any other Rhode Island mayor.

Those trips included the U.S. Conference of Mayors Summer Annual Meeting in Tampa, Florida; the U.S. Conference of Mayors Fall Leadership Meeting in Oklahoma less than three months later; the North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism in New Orleans; the International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference in Washington; and the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Annual Meeting.

Records also show Smiley traveled to Israel with the Rhode Island Jewish Alliance and took a personal trip to Portugal.

The city spent $1,793.75 on conference registration fees for two of Smiley’s trips.

While Smiley was in Providence during the Brown University shooting, he had been traveling the week before. When asked what would happen if a trip coincided with a city emergency, Smiley said he remains accessible.

“My travel is almost entirely domestic, and I have ready access to get home quickly,” Smiley said. “I was not prevented from doing my job at any point last year or this year either.”

The investigation found Central Falls Mayor Maria Rivera spent the most taxpayer money on travel during the period reviewed.

Rivera spent $3,302.23 on 17 days of out-of-state travel. That total included $717 from the police department budget for a joint trip with the city’s police chief.

Rivera traveled to Washington for the Yale Mayor’s College and CEO Caucus and Rhode Island Day, to Atlanta for the Purpose-Built Communities Conference, to Puerto Rico for the Northeast Leadership Conference hosted by the Boys & Girls Club of Rhode Island, and to Chicago for meetings with the U.S. Conference of Mayors and police chiefs.

Rivera said the trips are necessary to build relationships and secure funding opportunities for Central Falls.

“Not every community has a $22 million budget, right? A lot of these communities have more funding,” Rivera said.

Central Falls City Hall. (WJAR)

Rivera pointed to a connection she made during a trip to Chicago that later resulted in funding for the city.

“This was a relationship I built when I went on one of these trips and I was able to get $25,000 for our summer food service program for this year,” she said.

When asked why she does not personally pay for conference travel, Rivera said the costs are difficult to cover privately.

“I wish I could pay for these trips out of my pocket, but it’s really hard,” Rivera said. “I am very careful. We get requests all the time. I don’t go to all these trips.”

Rivera was also the only mayor interviewed who said she canceled travel plans because of a city emergency, including a February 2026 trip to Washington that coincided with a blizzard.

Cranston City Hall (WJAR File Photo)

Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins spent six days out of state attending two national conferences but reported spending no city funds on the travel.

Those conferences included the Community Leaders of America CLA|FCL South Carolina Spring National Conference in April 2025 and the CLA|FCL South Dakota Fall National Conference in October 2025. Attendance for both trips was paid for by the conference organization.

East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva spent 12 days out of the city on two international trips, also without spending city funds.

DaSilva’s office says he traveled to Cabo Verde in July 2025 with several state and local leaders to celebrate the country’s 50th anniversary of independence. He also traveled to Sao Miguel in the Azores in June 2025 for the “Sister Cities Summit,” which was paid for by FLAD, the Luso-American Development Foundation.

North Providence Mayor Charles Lombardi spent 26 days out of state on five personal trips or vacations and one charitable honor flight, according to records reviewed by the I-Team.

The town said no city or campaign funds were used for Lombardi’s travel.