Newport City Manager Colin Kennedy addressed residents' concerns about utility bills and infrastructure needs during What'sUpNewp's Wednesday monthly "https://whatsupnewp.com/ask-the-city-manager/" session.Please note that this newsletter allows supporters to read, listen to, and/or watch the conversation.Kennedy acknowledged the city "missed the mark" in rolling out recent changes to sewer and stormwater fees that resulted in unexpectedly high bills for some residents."We're apologetic for that and we're going to make sure we get it right," Kennedy said. He announced a public workshop later today to discuss the issue and potential rebates for overcharged customers.The City Manager emphasized the need for infrastructure improvements, citing an estimated $500 million in deferred maintenance over the past 30 to 50 years. He urged support for a $98 million bond measure on November's ballot to address urgent needs."This is not like racking up credit card debt. This is healthy debt to help improve your quality of life," Kennedy said.He highlighted projects like beach nourishment to protect structures and drinking water supplies from erosion. Some bond funds would also serve as matching dollars to unlock larger state and federal grants, he noted.Kennedy addressed concerns about the impact on part-time homeowners, acknowledging the need to balance workforce housing availability with property rights. He suggested better data analysis could help refine policies."We might find that we're not always necessarily required to make what heretofore may seem like draconian measures on some of our seasonal and part-time residents," he said.The City Manager also discussed traffic challenges, calling this summer "anecdotally … the worst ever." He emphasized the need to encourage alternative transportation modes and potentially strengthen residential parking enforcement.Diving DeeperCity Manager Addresses Infrastructure Needs and Revenue GenerationCity Manager Kennedy addressed the city's $500 million infrastructure backlog and emphasized the importance of the upcoming $98 million bond measure during his first public interview since taking office two months ago.Kennedy highlighted the bond measure, which will go before voters in November, saying, "We feel that we've put the most important and urgent projects on that allocation list. This is the first bite of the elephant we want to take."The bond aims to fund projects including beach nourishment, road improvements, and utility upgrades."The return on that investment is going to be fantastic," Kennedy said, citing examples like protecting the city's drinking water supply and preventing erosion of coastal structures.Kennedy also addressed the need for new revenue streams from Newport's 4 million annual visitors. "We need to do a better job of working with our state general assembly delegation to promote legislation that enables Newport to draw more from its visitors than other communities might," he said.He estimated that visitors create the equivalent impact of 105,000 full-time residents, based on average length of stay.Kennedy acknowledged missteps in the recent rollout of new utility fees, which caught many residents by surprise. "We missed the mark on that," Kennedy said. "Our residents deserve better." He promised improved communication going forward, citing recent investments in the city's communications department.Looking ahead, Kennedy expressed plans to modernize city operations, improve data analysis, and foster better collaboration between city departments and the school system."I have this kind of 'let's get to work' mentality right now," Kennedy said. "We've got a lot to do and it's exciting to move out on some of the initiatives we have coming up."Newport Faces Challenges with Traffic and Police StaffingCity Manager Kennedy highlighted increasing traffic as the most significant change he's observed in Newport over the past 20 years during a recent interview with What'sUpNewp."This year was, you know, anecdotally, we'll wait for data to come in, but anecdotally, it was the worst ever," Kennedy said, referring to the city's traffic situation.He attributes the surge to a post-pandemic travel boom, favorable weather conditions, and major events like the U.S. Senior Open golf tournament.Kennedy emphasized the need to encourage alternative modes of transportation to alleviate congestion. "We really need to begin figuring out ways to encourage people to come to Newport by something other than their personal vehicle," he said.The city manager also expressed concern about the Newport Police Department's staffing levels. The force is currently operating at about 11% below its budgeted strength of 84 personnel."It's difficult to be a police officer right now. There's a lot of scrutiny on police officers," Kennedy noted, adding that both pay and social factors contribute to recruitment challenges.To address these issues, Kennedy is considering stricter enforcement of residential parking regulations and working with the police union to improve compensation packages.He also stressed the importance of community policing, stating, "It's really about the community impact that you can have. And there's probably no better place to do that than a community like Newport."Kennedy took on the role of city manager two months ago. "I wanted to work somewhere local where I could grow some roots and just really get to know my neighbors," Kennedy said.Newport Seeks to Balance Tourism Economy with Resident NeedsCity Manager Kennedy estimates that Newport effectively has a population of 105,000 when accounting for the impact of tourism on city infrastructure and services."We're a city of 105,000 people now," Kennedy said. "You're probably saying what? No, census says we're only 24,000, 25,000. That's true. That's our full-time residents and families who vote and go to school here. But there's another 55,000 equivalent residents. That's what the 4 million visitors per year do in terms of the tax on our infrastructure."Kennedy is exploring ways to generate more revenue from visitors to support city operations and infrastructure improvements. He noted that currently, Newport only receives 1% from hotel stays and 1% from meals and beverage taxes."We need to do a better job of working with our state general assembly delegation to promote legislation that enables Newport to draw more from its visitors than other communities might," Kennedy said.The city is facing an estimated $500 million in needed infrastructure improvements over the coming years. A bond measure on the November ballot aims to address some of the most urgent needs.Kennedy emphasized that the bond is not a "money grab" but rather an investment in critical projects like beach nourishment to protect drinking water supplies and structures from erosion."These are not money grabs," he said. "We don't want a big sinkhole opening up underneath Easton's Beach. We want some funding availability through the bonds that allow us to go out for more, even more money in grant funds."The City Manager also addressed concerns about a recent change to sewer billing that unexpectedly impacted some residents. He acknowledged the rollout could have been handled better and promised improved communication on such issues going forward."I think we missed the mark on that," Kennedy said. "I strongly believe that the public had needed, deserved a better opportunity to kind of see that coming before it hit their mailboxes."City Manager Calls for Improved Communication Between City and School OfficialsCity Manager Kennedy called for improved communication and cooperation between city leadership and school officials to address educational challenges and complete the Rogers High School project.Kennedy expressed a desire to reset relations between the city and school department, emphasizing the need to work together on issues like enrollment, curriculum expansion and workforce housing."There's a lot of unnecessary acrimony right now between the city staff and between the school committee and the teachers union," Kennedy said. "I just really look forward to kind of saying, look, I wasn't here. I understand there are intense challenges on both sides of the issues, especially when it comes to building and Rogers High School."Kennedy, who took over as City Manager two months ago, said completing Rogers High School needs to be a priority to secure state reimbursement and provide students with a modern facility."Whatever we need to do to finish Rogers High School, we need to do," he said. "I don't necessarily mean in terms of dollars, I just mean a sensible decision to get to the end, get to the finish line on that project."The City Manager emphasized that improving school enrollment is key to expanding curriculum offerings and hiring more teachers. He suggested making public schools more appealing to families who turned to homeschooling during the pandemic and addressing Newport's housing challenges."If we balance out the housing predicament in Newport with good workforce housing that's at a decent rate that folks who can go, can earn a living here, can also live here, then their kids will be able to go to our wonderful school district," Kennedy said.He added that education should be viewed holistically, including lifelong learning, job placement and training, and mental health care.Ask The City Managerhttps://whatsupnewp.com/ask-the-city-manager/ airs the third Wednesday of most months at 10 am on What'sUpNewp. Tell us what you’d like us to Ask The City Manager by using the Google form below or comment as the broadcast airs live on our https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEJODi8Aq0qxGaSEzAruqEQ,