The New Shoreham Town Council on Monday held a regular meeting in which members approved appointments and routine items, set the town’s annual deer-hunting dates for a specified parcel, ratified most stipend rates for elected officials while asking staff to research the Board of Assessors’ compensation, and scheduled a midterm review meeting with the interim town manager to guide the ongoing manager search.

The council appointed Arlene Tooney to the building committee for the proposed public-safety complex, approved the town’s annual deer-hunting dates for Plat 20, Lot 20 with instructions for expanded signage and newspaper notices, and agreed to postpone action on a Transportation Safety Committee resolution until the council’s Jan. 15 meeting so the draft—originally focused on mopeds—can be broadened to a general transportation study and refreshed by the member who drafted it.

Why it matters: the actions set near-term operational details (hunting dates, committee membership, notice requirements) and outline next steps on personnel and policy matters (manager review, broader transportation committee charge). Several items were deferred for more discussion or clarification, notably compensation for the elected Board of Assessors and the transportation-resolution wording.

Most consequential motions and implementation details

- Appointments: The council appointed Arlene Tooney to the building committee for the public-safety complex. The council noted one additional vacancy remains on that committee and invited additional letters of interest to the town clerk.

- Deer hunting dates: The council approved the town’s annual deer-hunting dates on town property described as Plat 20, Lot 20. Council members said weekend hunting should not be added for that parcel given recreational use (clamming, walking) in the inner basin. The council directed that improved, legible signage be posted at multiple town access points (including Andy’s Way and the principal entrance), that the police chief be asked to reinstall the larger entrance sign used the prior year, and that newspaper notices run in the Friday paper before the season and weekly during the hunting period to alert residents.

- Transportation Safety Committee resolution: Council members agreed to defer final action and move the item to the Jan. 15 meeting. The council asked that the resolution be reworked from a narrow, mopeds-focused draft into a broader transportation-study committee with a clear charge.

- Town manager review and search: The council agreed to schedule a closed-session or otherwise private midterm review meeting with the interim town manager in roughly the middle of the interim appointment (about three months into a six-month term) to assess performance and help determine next steps for the permanent manager search. The clerk’s office will coordinate notifications required for a closed meeting.

- Salary stipends for officials: The council voted to ratify the currently used stipend rates for elected/appointed officials except for the Board of Assessors, which the council directed staff to review. Council discussion noted that many stipend figures appear unchanged for many years; the Board of Assessors was called out because one listed fee of $1,100 is split among three members and members thought the amount may be low relative to the time and travel required. Councilors indicated staff should collect comparables and the Board of Assessors’ estimate of time commitment and return with recommendations; any change adopted would take effect in February 2026 if approved.

- Budget/capital plan schedule and planning-board role: Council members reviewed the budget-hearing schedule and asked staff to avoid overloading the first budget meeting so that the presentation can be treated as a high-level overview. The council also discussed how the town now handles capital planning: department requests are aggregated by the town manager’s office and sent to the Planning Board, which reviews the plan for conformance with the comprehensive plan and ordinances. The council asked staff to provide the capital plan and the relevant ordinance so members can review them before later budget deliberations.

Votes at a glance

- Approve Dec. 18 minutes with a correction (change to reflect a councilor stepping out during emergency-management appointments): Motion made and seconded; council recorded the motion as approved (vote recorded as "Aye" in the meeting transcript; roll-call tally not specified in the transcript).

- Appoint Arlene Tooney to the building committee for the public-safety complex: Motion made and seconded; recorded as approved (transcript records "Aye"; roll-call tally not specified).

- Approve deer-hunting dates for Plat 20, Lot 20 and direct increased signage/advertising: Motion made and seconded; recorded as approved (transcript records "Aye"; roll-call tally not specified).

- Move Transportation Safety Committee resolution to Jan. 15 for re-drafting and fuller charge: Motion made and seconded; recorded as approved (transcript records "Aye"; roll-call tally not specified).

- Ratify current stipends for elected/appointed officials except Board of Assessors; staff to study Board of Assessors’ compensation and return with options: Motion made and seconded; recorded as approved (transcript records "Aye"; roll-call tally not specified).

- Adjourn: Motion made and seconded; recorded as approved (transcript records "Aye").

Discussion vs. decision

- Discussion: Members debated whether weekend hunting should be added to Plat 20, Lot 20 and emphasized public-safety signage and advertisement. Members also debated timing and format of budget hearings and the Planning Board’s role in capital planning and emphasized the need to see the capital plan and ordinance text.

- Direction: Staff was directed to (1) post larger signs and coordinate with the police chief for signage and to place newspaper notices for the hunting season; (2) research stipend comparables and the Board of Assessors’ work hours and return with recommendations; (3) send the capital plan and related ordinance language to council members; (4) schedule and notify the interim-manager midterm review (possibly as a closed meeting); (5) re-draft the Transportation Safety Committee resolution for Jan. 15 with a wider scope.

- Formal action: The listed motions above were recorded as approved in the transcript; the transcript shows votes recorded as "Aye" but does not provide a roll-call tally in the audio record provided.

Clarifying details and numeric items from the meeting

- Board of Assessors: the agenda materials list a fee of $1,100 that is split among three members; council asked staff to verify whether that amount remains appropriate and to provide time estimates from the Board of Assessors.

- Emergency Management Authority (EMA) stipend: participants discussed an historical stipend figure of $700 for that position; some members said they were unsure of the origin of that amount and asked staff to confirm historical context.

- Hunting notices: council requested that notices run in the Friday paper before the hunting start date (example referenced: Jan. 17 paper for a later January start) and weekly during the season; the council also asked that signs be placed at Andy’s Way and the main entrance from West Beach Road (speaker used phrase "Beampoint" in describing the approach).

Speakers (as identified in the meeting transcript)

- Nancy (name given in transcript), role/title: not specified, affiliation: government
- Millie (name given in transcript), role/title: town clerk or clerk’s office staff (role implied by duties), affiliation: government
- Amy (name given in transcript), role/title: Interim town manager (described in transcript), affiliation: government
- Mona (name given in transcript), role/title: not specified, affiliation: government
- Arlene Tooney, role/title: applicant/resident (applied for building committee), affiliation: citizen
- Beverly (name given in transcript), role/title: not specified, affiliation: government
- Pete (name given in transcript), role/title: not specified, affiliation: citizen
- Police Chief (title referenced in transcript), role/title: Police Chief, affiliation: government
- Elliot Taubman (deceased; mentioned during condolences), role/title: longtime resident/advocate, affiliation: citizen
- Keith (mentioned as absent), role/title: not specified, affiliation: government

Authorities

[]

Actions (formal motions and outcomes recorded in the transcript)

- {"kind":"other","motion":"Approve Dec. 18 minutes with a correction to reflect a councilor stepping out during the emergency-management appointments.","mover":"not specified","second":"not specified","vote_record":[],"tally":{"yes":0,"no":0,"abstain":0,"absent":0,"recused":0},"legal_threshold":{"met":false,"notes":"No roll-call tally in transcript; vote recorded verbally as 'Aye' but counts not specified."},"outcome":"approved","notes":"Correction to minutes approved; mover/second not identified by name in transcript."}

- {"kind":"appointment","motion":"Appoint Arlene Tooney to the building committee for the public-safety complex.","mover":"not specified","second":"not specified","vote_record":[],"tally":{"yes":0,"no":0,"abstain":0,"absent":0,"recused":0},"legal_threshold":{"met":false,"notes":"Vote recorded verbally as 'Aye'; roll-call tally not provided."},"outcome":"approved","notes":"One vacancy remains on committee; letters of interest requested."}

- {"kind":"other","motion":"Approve deer-hunting dates for town property Plat 20, Lot 20 and require expanded signage and newspaper notices.","mover":"not specified","second":"not specified","vote_record":[],"tally":{"yes":0,"no":0,"abstain":0,"absent":0,"recused":0},"legal_threshold":{"met":false,"notes":"Vote recorded verbally as 'Aye'; roll-call tally not provided."},"outcome":"approved","notes":"Council directed police chief to re-post larger entrance sign and staff to place notices in Friday paper before season and weekly during season."}

- {"kind":"other","motion":"Move item on Transportation Safety Committee resolution to Jan. 15 for re-drafting into a broader transportation-study committee with a charge.","mover":"not specified","second":"not specified","vote_record":[],"tally":{"yes":0,"no":0,"abstain":0,"absent":0,"recused":0},"legal_threshold":{"met":false,"notes":"Vote recorded verbally as 'Aye'; roll-call tally not provided."},"outcome":"approved","notes":"Council requested draft be broadened beyond mopeds and returned on Jan.15 when member who drafted it (Keith) is present."}

- {"kind":"other","motion":"Ratify current stipend rates for elected/appointed officials except Board of Assessors; staff to return with review and recommendations for the Board of Assessors' compensation.","mover":"not specified","second":"not specified","vote_record":[],"tally":{"yes":0,"no":0,"abstain":0,"absent":0,"recused":0},"legal_threshold":{"met":false,"notes":"Vote recorded verbally as 'Aye'; roll-call tally not provided."},"outcome":"approved","notes":"Any substantive change to take effect Feb. 2026 if approved; staff to collect comparables and time estimates from the Board of Assessors."}

- {"kind":"other","motion":"Adjourn the meeting.","mover":"not specified","second":"not specified","vote_record":[],"tally":{"yes":0,"no":0,"abstain":0,"absent":0,"recused":0},"legal_threshold":{"met":false,"notes":"Vote recorded verbally as 'Aye'; roll-call tally not provided."},"outcome":"approved","notes":"Meeting adjourned."}

Discussion_decision

{"discussion_points":["Whether to allow weekend hunting on Plat 20, Lot 20 given recreational uses in the inner basin","Need to post larger, legible signage and run newspaper notices for hunting season","Draft Transportation Safety Committee resolution is narrowly focused on mopeds and should be broadened","Stipend schedule for elected officials appears unchanged for many years; Board of Assessors compensation flagged for review","Capital-plan process now uses town manager to aggregate department submissions before Planning Board review"],"directions":["Staff to coordinate signage and newspaper notices for hunting season and request police chief’s assistance","Postpone Transportation Safety Committee resolution to Jan. 15 and re-draft a broader committee charge","Staff to research Board of Assessors’ workload and stipend comparables and return with recommendations","Town clerk/manager to schedule midterm review meeting with interim town manager and handle closed-meeting notices","Provide council members with the capital plan and ordinance language for review"],"decisions":["Appoint Arlene Tooney to the public-safety building committee","Approve hunting dates for Plat 20, Lot 20 with signage and advertising directions","Ratify current stipends for officials except Board of Assessors pending staff review","Move transportation-resolution item to Jan. 15 for re-drafting"]}

clarifying_details

[{"category":"board_of_assessors_fee","detail":"Agenda materials list a $1,100 fee that is split among three members","value":"1100","units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"meeting discussion"},{"category":"EMA_stipend","detail":"Historical stipend figure discussed for Emergency Management Authority position","value":"700","units":"USD","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"meeting discussion"},{"category":"hunting_notice_timing","detail":"Recommend running a notice in the Friday paper before season start and weekly during season; example referenced Jan. 17 for January start","value":"not specified","units":"date guidance","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"meeting discussion"}]

proper_names

[{"name":"New Shoreham","type":"location"},{"name":"Elliot Taubman","type":"person"},{"name":"Arlene Tooney","type":"person"}]

community_relevance

{"geographies":["New Shoreham","Plat 20, Lot 20 (town property)"],"funding_sources":[],"impact_groups":["town residents","recreation users (clammers, walkers)","elected/appointed officials"]}

meeting_context

{"engagement_level":{"speakers_count":8,"duration_minutes":125,"items_count":10},"implementation_risk":"low","history":[{"date":"prior meetings","note":"Board of Assessors stipends and capital-plan process discussed historically; capital-plan ordinance amended in prior years"}]}

searchable_tags

["hunting","appointments","stipends","budget","capital plan","transportation committee","town manager"]

provenance

{"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"232.69499","local_start":0,"local_end":81,"evidence_excerpt":"Okay. So we'll open the meeting, for Monday, January 6 at 07:00. Keith won't be here because his father passed away on Friday. So we send the condolences to his family. And I'd also like to send condolences to the family of Elliot Taubman, who passed last week.","reason_code":"topicintro","tc_start":"00:03:52","tc_end":"00:04:33"},{"block_id":"1986.2101","local_start":0,"local_end":21,"evidence_excerpt":"Aye. Thank you, Millie. We are adjourned. Amy.","reason_code":"topicfinish","tc_start":"00:33:06","tc_end":"00:33:27"}]}

salience

{"overall":0.45,"overall_justification":"Local operational decisions (appointments, hunting dates, stipend ratification) with moderate public interest; no major new policy or large budgetary allocation decided.","impact_scope":"local","impact_scope_justification":"Impacts town operations, recreation users, and town-appointed officials; no regional/national implications.","attention_level":"medium","attention_level_justification":"Routine municipal governance with a few items that require follow-up; likely interest from residents affected by hunting dates and committee vacancies.","novelty":0.15,"novelty_justification":"Most items were routine or procedural; capital-plan process previously amended and ongoing.","timeliness_urgency":0.35,"timeliness_urgency_justification":"Hunting dates and appointment fill immediate operational needs; stipend review and manager search have medium-term deadlines.","legal_significance":0.10,"legal_significance_justification":"No new ordinances or legal findings; routine administrative actions and scheduling.","budgetary_significance":0.10,"budgetary_significance_justification":"No major budget adoption; staff to return with budgeting details later.","public_safety_risk":0.25,"public_safety_risk_justification":"Hunting on town property involves safety considerations that prompted signage and advertisement directions.","environmental_impact":0.05,"environmental_impact_justification":"Hunting occurs in a coastal area but discussion focused on access and signage rather than environmental change.","affected_population_estimate":2500,"affected_population_estimate_justification":"Entire town/residents may be indirectly affected; exact count not specified.","affected_population_confidence":0.30,"affected_population_confidence_justification":"Estimate based on typical small-town population; transcript contained no population figures.","budget_total_usd":0.0,"budget_total_usd_justification":"No budget totals decided at this meeting.","decision_deadline":"2025-02-01","decision_deadline_justification":"Stated timeline for hunting season notices and effecting stipend changes (noted effective Feb. 2026 for any stipend changes).","policy_stage":"idea","policy_stage_justification":"Items are administrative actions or referrals for study rather than completed policy changes.","follow_up_priority":3,"follow_up_priority_justification":"Staff follow-up on signage, stipend research, capital plan documentation, and manager review are medium priority.","fact_check_risk":0.10,"fact_check_risk_justification":"Most items are procedural and recorded; some historic stipend numbers require staff verification.","uncertainty":0.20,"uncertainty_justification":"Several details (exact vote tallies, historical origin of stipend amounts) were not specified in the transcript.","source_diversity":0.30,"source_diversity_justification":"Discussion involved multiple council members and staff but relied primarily on clerk/manager input.","stakeholder_balance":0.40,"stakeholder_balance_justification":"Council considered residents’ recreational use and safety as well as administrative needs; Board of Assessors’ compensation to be further reviewed.","alert_flags":["missing_sources","high_uncertainty"],"alert_flags_justification":"Roll-call tallies and some historical figures were not provided in the transcript."}

engagement_forecast

{"newsworthiness":{"national":0.00,"regional":0.05,"local":0.80,"justification":"Strongly local interest (appointments, hunting dates, stipends); minimal regional relevance."},"notify_recommendation":{"audience":"city","reason":"Local residents who use Plat 20, Lot 20, residents interested in municipal appointments and stipend changes; council follow-ups expected."},"notify_thresholds":{"local_min":0.5,"regional_min":0.7,"national_min":0.9},"predicted_interest":{"national":0.00,"regional":0.05,"local":0.75,"justification":"Residents near affected town property and those following local governance likely to click/read."},"predicted_click_through":0.12,"predicted_click_through_justification":"Routine local meeting coverage with specific actions should draw modest engagement among town stakeholders.","predicted_read_time_minutes":3.5,"predicted_read_time_minutes_justification":"Single-article summary covering multiple agenda items; readers will spend a few minutes for details.","predicted_shares":4,"predicted_shares_justification":"Primarily shared within local community groups and affected residents."}

graph_signals

{"jurisdictions":["US-RI-NEW-SHOREHAM"],"jurisdictions_justification":"New Shoreham (Block Island), Rhode Island local council meeting.","ontology_topics":["local_government","public_safety","land_use","personnel"],"ontology_topics_justification":"Topics include appointments, hunting (public safety/land use), stipends (personnel/finance), capital planning.","naics_codes":[],"naics_codes_justification":"None applicable","sdg_tags":[],"sdg_tags_justification":"Not applicable","entities":[{"id":"new-shoreham","name":"New Shoreham","type":"location"},{"id":"arlenetooney","name":"Arlene Tooney","type":"person"}],"entities_justification":"Named town and appointee referenced in meeting."}]}]}]}