Updated
Updated · What'sUpNewp · Aug 12
Newport Council to Review City Manager's $225,000 Employment Term in Aug. 15 Session
Updated
Updated · What'sUpNewp · Aug 12

Newport Council to Review City Manager's $225,000 Employment Term in Aug. 15 Session

1 articles · Updated · What'sUpNewp · Aug 12

Summary

  • Saturday’s 10 a.m. special meeting will send Newport City Council into executive session to discuss City Manager Colin K. Kennedy’s employment and possible resolutions on his term.
  • The docket cites Rhode Island Open Meetings Act exemptions covering job performance, character or health, plus collective bargaining or litigation matters, allowing the discussion to occur in the city solicitor’s office behind closed doors.
  • Public action could follow after the closed session: the council may reconvene to disclose any votes, but it can withhold them if disclosure would jeopardize a strategy, negotiation or investigation and may seal the minutes.
  • Kennedy was appointed in May 2024 on a 5-2 vote and earns $225,000; under Newport’s council-manager system, he serves at the pleasure of the council.

Insights

What specific budget failures pushed the Newport City Council to secretly debate firing their highly paid city manager?
Is this closed-door meeting truly about the manager's performance, or a tactic to shift blame for Newport's financial struggles?
How will the potential ousting of Newport's city manager impact the multimillion-dollar school deficit and proposed city restructuring?