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Residents press council over budget transparency and public-comment rules; mayor defends meeting format
Summary
Two public commenters challenged the council over a proposed 22% budget increase and the mayor's decision to limit comments to the opening period; the mayor said he was running the meeting under his authority and would change the rule only by council vote.
A member of the public pressed the Newport City Council for early access to the ballot wording for an upcoming budget question, saying the proposed budget represents a 22 percent increase and warning of a "rude awakening" if property reassessments follow the vote.
That commenter (speaker 7) questioned the council’s tax-rate math, cited a projection of a $51 million increase in assessed values, and asked for an early copy of the ballot so the Secretary of State could review it for transparency. The mayor replied that he would provide two minutes for the speaker and noted staff would circulate information.
Later in the meeting, several residents and longtime volunteers challenged the mayor's decision to restrict public comment to the start of meetings rather than allowing comments during agenda items. Speaker 12 accused the mayor of having "blew us off" and argued the council had previously voted to permit comment during the meeting; the mayor responded that he was conducting the meeting under his authority and that the format could only be changed by a council vote.
The council moved on to the next agenda items without resolving the procedural dispute. Members asked staff to post meeting materials and the upcoming meeting dates on the city website; one councilor asked for a copy of the ballot wording when available.
Provenance: topicintro SEG 051, topfinish SEG 1848
