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Newport council approves charter change to expand utility board, directs letter on customer complaints
Summary
The Newport City Council approved a resolution to change the Newport Utilities charter to expand its board from five to seven members and voted to draft a letter to the utility board documenting citizen complaints about customer service and responsiveness.
The Newport City Council voted to approve Resolution 2026-O1, a charter amendment that would expand the Newport Utilities board from five to seven members and create two additional seats, including one ex officio position for the mayor, the council was told. City Administrator James Stinson said the change must be sent to the state legislature as part of the annual package of charter changes; it would return to the council for a required second reading and local ratification, which the city was told normally requires a supermajority of four votes.
Stinson told the council the charter change is intended to give the city more influence over utility governance after numerous citizen complaints about Newport Utilities’ responsiveness. “Everyone has the misconception because that we own the utility, that we control it, and we do not,” Stinson said, explaining that the utility is autonomous and that adding seats to the board would increase the city’s influence.
Separately, the council approved a motion to have staff draft a formal letter from the council to the Newport Utilities board outlining citizen complaints and asking for remedial action. Stinson said staff will prepare a draft, circulate it to council members for review and signatures, and asked members to provide any specific complaints within a week so the letter can include detailed examples.
Council members discussed options short of a charter change, with staff noting that the city’s charter currently limits its power over the utility to electing board members and prohibits operational interference. The charter amendment, Stinson said, would be sent to the legislature and, if enacted by the state and signed by the governor, would require a second reading and a local ratification vote by the council.
The council’s action tonight was procedural approval to send the charter change forward; final local ratification would follow the state process and the required public hearing. The council did not set a date for the second reading and did not record a formal roll-call tally in the minutes beyond the motion carrying on voice vote.
