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Newport releases five‑year CIP plan, flags major utilities shortfall
Summary
City staff presented a five‑year Capital Improvement Program that lists roughly $13.7 million in general‑fund needs and $15.4 million in prioritized CIP items, while utility directors warned of a much larger, largely unfunded water and sewer infrastructure gap.
City officials presented the proposed five‑year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) at a Jan. 7 workshop, offering councilors an early look at projects that staff described as a planning "wish list" to guide next year’s budget decisions.
The administration said the CIP is an informational, planning document that shows $13,670,000 in general‑fund project needs for fiscal 2027 and a broader $15.4 million slate of proposed projects across communications, facilities, transportation, seawalls and parks. "We likely won't be able to fund all of those," City Manager Colin Kennedy said, but the list is intended to set "an accurate barometer" of the city’s infrastructure needs.
The finance director, Jim Nolan, told the council the CIP as presented does not yet include a recent U.S. Department of Transportation award of about $4.4 million and noted other funding sources such as grants, donations and a committed infrastructure bond. Nolan summarized the draft CIP by category and emphasized that the document is not itself a budget but a planning tool to inform the budget process.
Utility and resilience staff raised deeper concerns about funded needs versus long‑term obligations. Theresa Crean, director of resilience and sustainability, and other utility presenters showed that sanitary sewer, water and stormwater needs significantly outstrip available funding. One councilor warned that the city is funding "less than 20% of our critical infrastructure needs" and called the total potential liability "a quarter‑billion dollar" problem, a characterization used to underline the urgency of pursuing new revenue options and grant funding.
Councilors asked staff to clarify which previously approved bond projects remain active (for example, the Cliff Walk and VanZandt Bridge work) and requested that future presentations better distinguish newly proposed items from ongoing, previously allocated bond projects. Staff said they will add a recap of earlier, already‑approved items prior to public hearings.
The first public hearing on the CIP was scheduled for Jan. 28 in conjunction with a council meeting; the administration said it will pursue grants and bring clearer funding tables to follow‑up meetings.
