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Newport City Council presses for deeper financial reports as budget snapshot shows 25.5% spending
Summary
City Manager presented a quarterly budget snapshot showing $1.8M spent of a $7.3M budget (25.5%); councilors asked for line-item detail, audit timing, and projections after concerns that some warrants may not be reflected in the report.
City Manager Jonathan Delabre told the Newport City Council the city has spent $1.8 million, or about 25.5% of its $7.3 million annual budget, for the quarter covering July through September and that municipal property-tax revenue is just under $5 million with roughly $2.2 million collected so far. "Out of our $7,300,000 budget, we've spent 1.8, which is 25.5% of our total budget," Delabre said during the presentation.
Councilors pressed staff on several details, including where debt-service payments and line-of-credit interest appear in the reports and whether recent warrants were fully captured. One councilor noted that a debt-service column on page 32 showed no actuals and asked why those payments were absent. The council located a line for "Sumsix Savings Bank line of-credit interest" on the warrants page but asked staff to run a report showing the exact budget line items where those costs were recorded.
Why it matters: Council members said they need more transparency and more granular reports to manage cash flow, especially because a sizable payment in lieu of taxes (about $615,000) is expected around Nov. 1 and because some residents prepay tax bills. Public comment raised concerns that the quarterly report may not include all recent warrants, which could understate spending and mask year-end deficit risk.
Council direction and next steps: Members requested the finance team produce (1) a line-item breakdown on warrants that shows which budget account each transaction charges, (2) a financial-projection tool combining year-to-date actuals with near-term forecasts, and (3) a follow-up on the audit timeline. Delabre agreed to provide the detailed line-item information and to work with the treasurer on projection reports for the next meeting. Jen Brockins, identified as president of Newport (public), said she was concerned the packet's expenditure report omitted warrants and warned of a "potential real problem of going into a deficit" if expenditures are not fully captured.
The council did not adopt any budget actions at the meeting; members said they will continue the financial-review process at future meetings and will add requested reports to the agenda.
