In the opening round of a citywide budget workshop series, Newport’s City Council pressed department heads and finance officials Monday night over a nearly million-dollar public safety spending gap, deferred fire station maintenance and an ambitious proposal to reshape how the city manages its parking operations — all against a backdrop of union contracts, supply chain delays and a waterfront project still missing its most critical contract.
The March 30 session was the first of seven budget workshops scheduled to run through April 16, covering departments from public schools to utilities. All sessions are held at 5:30 p.m. in the second-floor Council Chamber at City Hall, are open to the public, and are streamed live and on demand at www.CityofNewport.com/TV. The proposed budget is available at www.CityofNewport.com/Finance.
A million-dollar problem — and a council that isn’t buying the explanation
The most charged moment of the evening came when Third Ward Councilor David Carlin III did the math in public.
The Newport Police Department and Fire Department are together projected to overspend their combined fiscal 2026 adopted budgets by approximately $925,000 — roughly $100,000 for police and $825,000 for fire. Finance Director Jim Nolan attributed the shortfall squarely to newly settled union contracts. “The reason that we’re going over within police and fire has to do with the contracts that we entered into. There are two steps that were dropped from that contract which made a significant push in those salaries — and that significant push also impacted overtime. That’s where that $800,000 is coming from on fire,” Nolan said.
Nolan’s proposed solution: the city had been deliberately conservative when budgeting its hotel tax revenue and now expects surpluses there — plus gains in building permits — to absorb the gap. He was firm that the city’s budget reserves would stay untouched. “I can assure you that we would not use our budget reserve — that would be a recurring expense and reserves are for one-time purchases only,” he said.
Carlin wasn’t satisfied. “Well, it’s a million dollars, Colin. Sure, relatively small — but suppose we took that million and projected it against the expected tax increase for residents. Then it doesn’t become a small amount of money,” he said. The rebuke was directed at City Manager Colin Kennedy and came with an explicit directive: “I am just not buying into the fact that the revenue from the hotel tax is going to satisfy that $925,000. Please come back to us with an appropriate way, outside of digging into our budget reserves, to make up that difference.”
The administration has no formal deadline to respond, but the expectation was clear: a credible plan is needed before the full fiscal 2027 budget is adopted.
Good news on the beat — Newport police fully staffed
Amid the fiscal tension, Police Chief Ryan Duffy delivered one of the evening’s brightest notes: the department is now fully staffed, with 85 sworn officers and 153 total operational personnel.
It’s a milestone that hasn’t come easily. Duffy credited a combination of competitive raises and intentional culture-building. “I think we did a very robust recruitment plan. And it also has to do with raises. It also has to do with the quality of work life for a Newport police officer,” he said.
He was quick to temper the optimism. “As we have natural retirements, it’s still a grind to get the one or two qualified, quality people to come to the department.” The department’s prioritized capital budget came in at $306,245, covering investigative technology, an impounded evidence lot and a municipal support drone.
Fire department’s hard choices — what got left behind
Fire Chief Harp Donnelly’s presentation carried a more sobering undercurrent. After sitting down with finance officials to trim the capital wish list, two items were cut that arguably should have stayed: replacement batteries for the department’s portable radios and new windows for Fire Station 1.
The windows, Donnelly explained, were already a concern. “Left on the table: batteries for our portable radios. Replacement windows for Station 1 — the Station 1 windows are almost three years old. Low bid when they went in and some of them are just at the critical phase of needing to be replaced,” he said.
No alternative funding or timeline was identified. Donnelly also offered perhaps the evening’s most relatable line about government procurement realities: the department ordered a new ladder truck four years ago and is still waiting. “Lead times are crazy long. I came to you four years ago to ask for a new ladder truck. Ladder truck isn’t here yet and we’re driving that same ladder truck around — but it’ll be here in August.”
A new vision for parking — and a new hire to lead it
In a presentation that drew significant council attention, Chief Duffy stepped beyond his police portfolio to make the case for a new full-time superintendent of parking authority — a senior-level position that would consolidate three existing part-time roles and take command of a parking program generating projected gross revenue of $3.9 million.
The pitch was carefully constructed to preempt the obvious objection. “As an enterprise fund, the cost of the position is supported by the revenue generated by the parking program and does not come from tax-based revenue,” Duffy said.
The position, Duffy argued, would pursue grants, identify satellite parking locations to reduce congestion and work alongside the planning department to implement the city’s Keep Newport Moving transportation master plan. “This position will partner with the planning department to address major concerns cited in the city’s master transportation plan, thereby contributing to improved quality of life for residents and visitors,” he said.
The proposal was not voted on. A formal personnel ordinance discussion is expected at a future workshop.
Transportation Supervisor Patrick Segerson also fielded a pointed question about whether it was appropriate for the parking enterprise fund to subsidize public works street repairs driven largely by tourist traffic and tour buses. When asked if those costs more appropriately belonged in a public services line item, Segerson was candid: “In my opinion, yes.” No formal change was directed.
Waterfront in progress — but the big contract isn’t signed yet
Harbormaster Steve Land updated the council on the Perrotti Park Bulkhead and Harbormaster Building project. Docks have been purchased and installation is planned for November. Designs for the building are underway. But the construction contract — the project’s most consequential piece — remains unsigned.
“Hopefully it’ll be under the $6 million that I’ve estimated. But that is our last major contract that we have to do for this project,” Land said.
Separately, council members flagged $382,500 in the proposed fiscal 2027 maritime capital outlay that could not be accounted for in previously approved projects. Nolan committed to providing an explanation but did not have the answer Monday night.
What comes next
Monday’s session was only the opening round. The city’s budget workshop calendar continues April 7 with a general budget overview covering projected General Fund revenues, capital projects and personnel changes. A first resilience and sustainability session — covering public services, planning and IT — is set for April 9, followed by a joint session with the School Committee on April 15 to discuss the proposed school budget. The series closes April 16 with a second resilience workshop and a review of the utilities department budget.
With the city’s two largest public safety departments already over budget, deferred fire station maintenance flagged as a safety concern and a new senior parking hire awaiting a formal vote, the coming weeks of workshops are likely to carry just as much weight — and perhaps more tension — than the first.
The question hanging over all of it remains unanswered: when the administration returns with its plan to close the $925,000 public safety gap, will the numbers hold up to council scrutiny?
Residents may attend all workshops in person in the second-floor Council Chamber at City Hall or watch live and on demand at www.CityofNewport.com/TV. The proposed budget and Capital Improvement Plan are available at www.CityofNewport.com/Finance.
