Council approves level funding for most civic support requests; adds money for food pantry and MLK Center

The Portsmouth Town Council on Feb. 24 set preliminary civic support allocations that will inform the town administrator’s budget development, choosing to level-fund most outside requests at FY25 levels while approving targeted increases for several organizations.

Nut graf: Councilors voted to level-fund the civic-support slate and then adopted three amendments on the floor to add funds to local hunger-relief and community programs. The council described the action as a direction to the town administration as it builds the FY26 budget, not a final appropriation.

After council discussion and public remarks from organizational representatives, the council approved the primary motion to level-fund the civic support requests at FY25 levels with an exception for the public library’s requested increase. Two subsequent amendments were adopted: full funding of Aquidneck Island Food Pantry’s $5,000 request and full funding of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center’s $5,000 hunger-relief request. The council also preserved a $1,000 grant for a wildlife rehabilitator group. The amended package passed by a 6–1 vote.

Presenters described service volumes and operations. Donna Matthews, secretary of the Aquidneck Food Pantry, told councilors the pantry served the equivalent of 5,932 family visits (17,364 individual instances) in 2024 and relies on about 35 regular volunteers. Allison Novick, representing the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, said Portsmouth resident use of the center’s services has grown 33% and described mobile pantry operations, fresh-produce distribution, and nutritional-education programming.

The Aquidneck Island Planning Commission (AIPC) representatives described three near-term priorities: completing an audit and maintenance plan for completed Island Waters projects, conducting an Aquidneck Island resident-priorities survey, and building an online research library to make prior island studies accessible. AIPC asked the council to consider a small funding placeholder to sustain core operations while the commission pursues grants and other funding sources.

Ending: Councilors repeatedly described the vote as guidance to the administrator; allocations can be revisited during the formal budget process. The council instructed the administrator to treat the approved amounts as placeholders for the FY26 budget build and to expect detailed follow-up from organizations where backup or financial statements were incomplete.