Newport City Manager Colin Kennedy addressed several pressing issues during his monthly chat with What'sUpNewp on Wednesday, October 16, including utility billing concerns, early voting procedures, and the upcoming bond referendum.Kennedy reassured residents about the delayed September utility bills, urging them to wait for the October bills before taking action. "The October bills will have the effect of stabilizing the billing," Kennedy said. He explained that the October bills, expected to arrive by Thursday or Friday, will contain credits for overcharges in August and September."We don't want people to get used to that," Kennedy cautioned, referring to the potentially small October bills resulting from the credits. He emphasized that normal billing should resume in November.Early voting for the upcoming election began Wednesday, with a temporary location change due to elevator maintenance at City Hall. "We are on the ground floor of city hall because of the malfunction of our elevator," Kennedy explained. Voting will take place in a conference room accessible from street level, open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on normal business days through Nov. 4.Kennedy expressed some hope that City Hall's elevator would be up and running again soon. "Our goal is to make it [the elevator] available before the first city council meeting of the new term, which I believe is on December 11," Kennedy said.The city manager devoted significant time to discussing Question 6 on the ballot, a $98.5 million bond referendum. Kennedy framed the bond as "insurance" against potential future costs, particularly those related to climate change and infrastructure repairs."Within one to three years, because of all the impacts of climate change, that bulkhead is going to fail," Kennedy said, referring to the Perrotti Park bulkhead. He estimated the cost to replace it at about $20 million.Kennedy argued that passing the bond would spread costs over 30 years, resulting in a smaller tax increase compared to potential emergency funding scenarios. "I would much rather be able to borrow funds from an authorized bond referendum and spread that cost out over 30 years at a very small rate of tax increase," he said.The city manager highlighted several projects that could benefit from the bond, including beach nourishment at Easton's Beach and stormwater control in the north end. He emphasized the potential for leveraging bond funds to secure additional grants, potentially doubling or tripling available funds for some projects.Addressing concerns about the bond's similarity to the 2020 Rogers High School bond, Kennedy clarified, "This is a general obligation bond. It is not a bond that's for a single project." He stressed that the allocations are "just a roadmap" and that the City Council would approve each bond sale individually.Kennedy also touched on the ongoing rate study for water, stormwater, and wastewater services. "We're hiring a professional consultant to help us drive towards that end state, so that in the future, we're able to get the revenue we need, but do it in a more equitable way," he explained.Regarding climate change skepticism, Kennedy took a pragmatic approach. "From my perspective, I don't particularly care how that happened," he said. "My responsibility as a city manager is to look into the data, is to acknowledge the fact that these are things that are measured and are happening."As the interview concluded, Kennedy encouraged residents to vote early at City Hall or at their normal precinct sites on Nov. 5 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. He reiterated that October utility bills would be arriving soon, containing explanations of the applied credits."I respectfully request a little more patience from our residents," Kennedy said. "They'll see those very soon, and I believe that they'll feel made whole at that point."City Manager Kennedy will join What'sUpNewp next on November 20 at 10 am.Watch The ConversationResources* Utility Billing: For more information, clarification, and updates, click here.* Question 6: For more information on the Newport bond question, click here.* Voting: The City of Newport's 2024 Election Guide is here. To see your sample ballot and find your polling location, click here.

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