Questions and Answers?

Go to Question 1,2,3,4, 5,6,6a,7,8,9,10,11,12,13

Question 11

What do you think are the top two priority issues facing Newport and what specific actions do you intend to propose to address them

 

	Answer:
Connolly	Infrastructure and Berkshire Reports. I will support the road bond issue, the CSO plan. Demand regular updates on progress, support funding. The same is true for the Berkshire Report recommendations. The bottom line is ACCOUNTABILITY to taxpayers.
Coyne	The top two priorities facing Newport are Sewer System Upgrades and Development Ideas for the North End. I intend to continue to fund the testing necessary to determine more areas of Inflow and Infiltration into our sanitary sewer system and then to act on the results of those tests that will immediately help to reduce and eventually eliminate all CSO events in Newport. I also intend to work with the City Manager to insure that Middletown and the Navy are held accountable for all aspects of any contract entered into with the City and that substantial fines or penalties will result if there is a violation. The North End of the City is an opportunity for us to finally develop a portion of the City in a balanced and thoughtful way. Providing open space, housing, and employment opportunities that are meaningful will allow us to broaden our tax base AND maintain what we all truly love about Newport, the neighborhood. I do not support, in any way, the idea of a Water Park.
Dias	Sewer. See question 6 answer. Taxes. Need to improve revenues to lower tax rate or use some surplus $ to lower taxes. Tax relief for the taxpayers of Newport is a main concern of mine.
Napolitano	I believe top priority issues are: Upgrading our infrastructures which include schools, roads, and our water and sewers. Secondly, would be our future liability for health and pensions. In a regard to the first priority, I would support a plan to build or reconstruct new elementary schools., in the North and South of Newport. Innovative teaching environments, stringent fire and ADA codes, and a declining elementary school population would be better served by schools that can accommodate our changing demographics and technological needs. It is imperative to incorporate an environment which provides space for total programming including music and art. Excising some of our current schools, and putting them on the tax rolls could mitigate or eliminate the need for bonding for schools. We have made progress with our streets in the last four years but years of neglect require a lot more work. Over 60% of our streets need major repairs. Hopefully, with approval of the road bond referendum, our streets and sidewalks repairs can be accelerated. Along with the road repair, a new maintenance program has been established so that we can maximize the life of our streets and make repairs when necessary. This is the first major bonding for roads in over twenty years. We need to explore the options available to the city in regard to the water department, including possible privatization. I have continued to approve all funding necessary for upgrading our facilities and reservoirs. We need to continue to apprise our legislators ( state and federal) of our needs in both of these departments to take advantage of grants and other funding sources.
Oliviera	I believe the two most important were the two that were most ignored: schools and future mandated responsibilities.Every Administration has the best opportunity to do great things in the first 100 days. That is all of 6 meetings. After that, the day-to-day concerns of running a city take over.I have made clear what I will do in the first 100 days around these interconnected issues on my website, www.BobbyO.org. There, you can see a positive vision for Newport in a step-by-step format.
Slee	We have a tourist driven economy and until we create an alternate income source we need to focus on what we have. If we cannot keep small businesses healthy and bring back the income generating tourism, I feel there is no benefit to redoing the roads or developing a North End that will not contribute be used to its full, expected potential. b) This city needs to become more responsible for its spending and try to work within the current tax rates. Rising taxes have contributed to the increased costs of living that seems to out way what current incomes have historically supported. If the budget can come in with a greater surplus than we have now, then we can pay off our debts and plan for the future.
Waluk	The top issue facing Newport is the pollution of Easton's Beach and Newport harbor. This Council has begun to address both problems by identifying causes for both the Combined Sewer Overflow problem at Wellington Avenue and the moat around Easton's Pond, and discharges from the Town of Middletown and State of Rhode at Easton's Beach. The city is aggressively working to shore up its sewer problem by disconnecting storm drains/pipes from our raw sewage system. The problem we face at the Wellington Avenue CSO station is infiltration of the system by rainwater. Within 9 months we will begin physical work to stop this problem. Easton's Beach is a more complicated problem on the city's end because we are dealing with a natural environment in the moat. The problems with the state and Middletown can be addressed with structural improvements but the moat and Easton's Pont are more sensitive areas.
Abney	In my opinion, the two top priorities issues facing Newport are 1) Municipal financing, from which to address our educational, environmental and infrastructure (roads, sewers, beaches) needs and 2) aligning our contract and benefits negotiations to standards that are current and competitive with private industry. I will work to ensure spending is prioritized and balanced. I believe that a spending plan should be adopted, posted and charted on a quarterly basis to keep the public informed on exactly where the city is relative to it financial situation. I believe and will work to ensure that seasoned, tough negotiators handle our contract bargaining. The end result should be fairness to all parties involved based on the ability of the city to fulfill its obligations in a sound manner.
Duncan	Other than schools, #1 sewers - drainage overflow - that is currently being acted upon by Earth Tech; #2 the water system - handled by, again, by similar procedures exercised by Earth Tech.
Cullen	see #6
McLaughlin	From a tactical perspective, the most important priority is how to pay for infrastructure maintenance and investment costs for roads & sidewalks, schools, sewers, seawalls, etc., as well as the projected cost of the unfunded Other Post Employment Benefits liability. From a strategic perspective, the most important challenge is implementation of a modern management information system and associated performance measurement system that will support long-range planning and achievement of efficiencies. The council needs to control costs, maximize efficiencies, and allocate resources in a manner that will ensure the financial health of the city. The council relies to a great extent on the city manager and the city administration to recommend specific courses of action and the steps needed to achieve the desired results. The council scrutinizes what is proposed to ensure that the actions taken will achieve what is needed. To do that well, the council has to know where we are going and determine if the actions proposed will actually gets us there. The council needs to develop a comprehensive plan with which to guide its decisions in pursuit of the goals it sets for the city. That plan needs to include both a near-term perspective and a long-range vision. Decisions should be based on a longer view than a two-year election cycle.
Leonard	There are no two priority issues. The sewage system needs to be upgraded to ensure our well-being/health and our economy. Productivity and accountability in both the City and School leadership are imperative. Using money wisely and requiring positive results is a must. Thames Street and Broadway businesses are suffering. How do we help them? The infrastructure is old. Roads need repairs. Zoning ordinances are out-dated. The need is to provide a balance so that residents and businesses can work together to keep a vibrant community that does not lose its middle class, the retired, and its young people.

Go to Question 1,2,3,4, 5,6,6a,7,8,9,10,11,12,13