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Council rescinds member bonding requirement, updates billing language and delays minute approval
Summary
The Newport City Council rescinded an earlier requirement that council members secure bonds, agreed to revise water/sewer billing language for clarity, and removed approval of April 9 minutes from tonight’s consent agenda to allow clerk revisions.
The Newport City Council voted April 20 to rescind a prior action that required elected council members to secure fidelity bonds. The motion to rescind was moved, seconded and carried by voice vote after a council member noted the charter and state law include no such requirement for members.
Council also voted to approve a recommendation from the Water & Sewer task force to change billing terminology on metered accounts: phrases such as “water connection fee” and “sewer connection fee” will be replaced with clearer terms such as “quarterly base rate” and “quarterly sewer use rate,” and staff was directed to forward ordinance language to the city attorney for review.
Earlier in the meeting the council agreed to withdraw approval of the April 9 minutes from the consent agenda to allow the clerk to reconcile an edit (language regarding the city manager’s leadership role in preparing and advising on major city agreements) with the audio record. The council moved the minutes approval to the next meeting so the clerk can adjust the packet.
Councilors emphasized that rescinding the bond requirement does not remove the statutory requirement to bond a city manager; they asked staff to ensure bonding is addressed when a city manager is appointed. All motions were approved by voice vote.
