Newport council votes to terminate city manager after private session; residents and regional firefighters urged retention

The Newport City Council voted to terminate City Manager Jonathan Delabry effective immediately following an executive session and a lengthy public comment period in which residents and regional fire officials urged the council to retain him.

The motion to terminate was introduced at a special meeting when an unidentified council member said, "I move that we terminate the contract between Jonathan Delabry, city manager, and the city of Newport effective immediately and following the provisions for dismissal delineated in the contract." The motion was seconded and carried by voice vote; the transcript records the mayor announcing, "Ayes have it, and the motion is carried." The meeting record does not include a roll-call tally in the public transcript.

The vote followed an earlier council motion, approved by voice vote, to enter executive session "to discuss confidential attorney client communications" and to consider disciplinary action under cited statutory provisions. The council announced when it exited that session that "No action has been taken" immediately after the closed-door portion, but the termination motion was offered and passed later in the open meeting.

Dozens of members of the public spoke specifically to the termination motion. Taylor Josephson, identified in the meeting as a lieutenant with the Fairfax Fire Department, said he had worked with Delabry and described him as "a person that's out there to help out the... town" and added that he had not seen Delabry "do much of anything that's hurt anybody." Former Newport Mayor Paul Monette criticized the council's transparency and asked, "How many millions of dollars in grants do we have, and where do they stand? Are we gonna stop losing grants over this?" Several speakers asked whether formal corrective actions or improvement plans had been attempted before dismissal; Alex Sullivan specifically asked whether "any corrective counseling" or write-ups existed.

Other supporters who spoke included firefighters and municipal officials from neighboring towns. David DeBaze, identified as a fire chief speaking remotely, said he had worked with Delabry professionally and vouched for his record. Multiple speakers described Delabry's service in emergency response roles and urged the council to consider the loss of institutional knowledge and its effect on future collaboration with residents and neighboring agencies.

Council member Curtis, speaking after the vote, acknowledged that some in the public would be disappointed and said, "I like Jonathan. I still like Jonathan... I don't expect you to understand our position, but there are things that we know that we can't tell," indicating the council cited confidential matters it could not disclose publicly.

The council did not announce a replacement for the city manager at the meeting. The council moved on to new business after the termination vote and concluded the special meeting.

What happened next: the council carried procedural motions to move into new business and adjourn; the transcript contains no additional detail about severance, appeal rights, or next administrative steps for the city manager position.

Sources: Public comment and council actions recorded in the Newport City Council special meeting transcript.