Newport aldermen ratify lower tax rate, approve municipal court update and multiple grants, bids

Newport aldermen on the August regular meeting ratified a reduced property tax rate, approved the second reading of an ordinance updating municipal court code, and approved a slate of grants, contracts and purchases including a $75,000 school safety grant and a $40,117 ADA-accessible dock.

The board voted to ratify a property tax rate of 1.5247 per $100 of assessed value to offset a countywide reappraisal, a change city staff said is required to keep property tax revenue level after the state reassessment. City Administrator James Stinchill explained the change is a reduction from the prior 2.412 rate and does not increase net tax revenue.

The aldermen also approved the second reading of Ordinance 2025-12, amending Title 3 (Municipal Court) of the City of Newport Municipal Code to reflect changes in the Tennessee Code Annotated affecting municipal courts. The ordinance passed on roll call.

In grants and grant applications, the council voted to: - Approve a $10,882 grant application to ETHRA for improvements at the senior center, with a 10% city match of $1,088; the board approved the application and match. - Authorize participation in the Public Entity Partners Safety Partners matching grant program (customarily a $2,000 grant with a 50% city match, as described in the application materials). - Authorize the Newport Police Department to apply for a $75,000 state school safety grant to support the school resource officer position; staff said no city match is required.

The board also approved administrative housekeeping and finance items: a resolution allowing renaming and repurposing of a bank account at Newport Federal Bank to receive incoming grant funds and permitting finance staff to manage related checks and ledger activity.

Purchases and contracts approved included: - A refrigerant recovery and AC service system for the street department from NAPA/Sourcewell for $10,917.26. - The annual winter road salt contract with Compass Minerals America at $141.63 per ton. - An ADA-accessible dock and related boardwalk from BoardSafe Docks for $40,117 (including shipping).

The board reappointed Sasha Steele to the Newport Library Board and granted a request from WestCare Tennessee’s Zero Suicide program to hold an event behind City Hall on the proposed date of Sept. 19 from 3 to 7 p.m.

Votes on the listed ordinances, resolutions and purchases carried by roll call. Where roll-call tallies were read into the record, the responses recorded on the transcript were unanimous affirmative votes by those present.

The meeting packet supplied amounts and basic contract terms for the approvals; staff and presenters provided additional operational details but did not request further policy direction on those items. Several items were routine annual grant applications or single-vendor procurements that staff said were budgeted for the fiscal year.

Ending: The board concluded with routine procedural items and moved to adjourn after hearing the final staff updates.