Residents urge council to address Bonnet Shores fire district voting and oversight

Several Narragansett residents used the council’s open‑forum period on May 5 to press elected officials about governance and voting in the Bonnet Shores Fire District, a subordinate district located entirely inside the town.

Melissa Jenkins told the council she has repeatedly raised concerns that the fire district’s 1932 charter allows nonresident cabana or beach‑club property owners to vote in fire district elections and that a private beach club has used that franchise to elect a majority sympathetic to the club’s interests. Jenkins called for the town to "urge the General Assembly to close the unconstitutional loophole that allowed this takeover" and asked the council to pass an ordinance limiting voting in subordinate districts to town residents.

Paula Chiles, a full‑time resident of Bonnet Shores, described the district as a quasi‑municipality that collects taxes, provides trash pickup and oversees protected natural resources. Chiles said the district’s charter lets nonresident owners who hold small amounts of property vote and claimed the number of nonresident voters outnumbers full‑time resident voters by roughly three to one. She urged the council to endorse state legislation to require residency as the basis for voting rights in subordinate districts and to equalize oversight with other fire districts in Rhode Island.

Speakers asked the council to clarify what local authority the town has over subordinate districts and urged an ordinance to ensure residents, not nonresident property owners, control local decisions that affect property, public resources and law enforcement interactions. Councilors did not take formal action during open forum but heard repeated requests for follow‑up.