Portsmouth council rejects $18,000 civic support request for Aquidneck Island Planning Commission

The Portsmouth Town Council voted on June 11, 2025, to deny a motion to allocate $18,000 in FY2026 civic support funding to the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission (AIPC). The contingency-based motion—conditioning Portsmouth’s payment on matching $18,000 contributions from Newport and Middletown—failed on a 2–5 vote.

Steve Johnson, who identified himself as the AIPC board chair, asked the council to reallocate $18,000 in the town’s FY2026 civic support line to sustain AIPC’s Aquidneck Island Community Needs Initiative and to maintain AIPC’s website and outreach capacity. Johnson said AIPC “has served Portsmouth residents” and cited prior islandwide stormwater work worth “over $2,000,000” as an example of projects that benefited Portsmouth. He also said the commission had been offered pro bono legal and policy support from Roger Williams University School of Law for coastal resilience and infrastructure planning.

Opponents on the council and several commenters urged caution. Resident Larry Fitzmorris said the commission had “run its time” and asked the council to “maintain current policy and not to fund AIPC $18,000.” Another speaker and multiple councilors noted AIPC is a private organization and raised concerns about oversight and whether Portsmouth should be the primary funder if Middletown or Newport did not match contributions. Council discussion referenced Middletown’s recent final-reading action, which approved $18,000 on the condition that Portsmouth and Newport also provide matching funds; speakers described Middletown’s motion as contingent.

Councilor Hayero expressed support for funding only if the other island municipalities participated, saying Portsmouth should not “be left with a dollar amount in our budget” alone. The council considered a “pseudo motion” to add the $18,000 contingent on matching funds, took a voice vote and the motion failed 2–5.

Outcome and next steps: The contingent funding motion failed; no change was made to the provisional civic support line in the FY2026 budget at the June 11 meeting. AIPC representatives indicated they would scale back planned outreach work and use a smaller Rhode Island Foundation grant to update their website if town funding is not provided. Johnson said he would return during next year’s budget process if needed.

Votes at a glance: - Motion to fund $18,000 for Aquidneck Island Planning Commission contingent on Newport and Middletown also funding $18,000: Failed, 2–5.

Context: AIPC requested the reallocated funds to support the Aquidneck Island Community Needs Initiative, a planning and outreach program the commission said would produce islandwide survey and workshop results and a Portsmouth-specific online forum. Speakers on both sides emphasized the commission’s past contributions to island infrastructure and resiliency planning as well as ongoing concerns about transparency and the organization’s private status.