Newport City Manager Issues Spending Freeze, Council Approves Valet Ordinance

The approved a valet ordinance and went over the Capital Improvement Plan, while the City Manager placed a spending freeze on the city during Wednesday night's meeting.

The council approved a that will serve downtown Newport during the summer months. The ordinance will let private businesses, such as waterfront and general businesses, maritime, and commercial and industrial business zones, apply for valet parking permits.

The ordinance is intended to alleviate the heavy traffic and parking issue Newport has during tourist season.

The council also discussed the Capital Improvement Plan at its first hearing Wednesday night. The plan would give long-awaited improvements to Broadway and the Lower Thames Street Armory. The five-year, $67 million plan is designed to estimate how much the desired developments will cost the city.

The plan for Fiscal Year 2012 totals $67,214,135, which is $41 million more than the approved FY 2011 total. The new elementary school amounts for $30 million.

Ron Becker, of the Alliance for a Livable Newport, said the city would have to save $11 million from next year's budget to make up the difference.

City Manager Edward F. Lavallee called it a “dynamic process” and said the city would have to pick and choose the most important projects in light of next year's budget issues. A public workshop on the plan will follow, said Councilor Kathryn Leonard.

Lavallee also announced a city-wide spending freeze that halted the $500,000 to compensate firefighter overtime. Because of the freeze, he recommended to wait for the mid-year adjustment until the third quarter.