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Posted by NewportAlliance - March 10, 2012 at 6:39 pm
SHARE THIS REPORT: Survey Report: June 2013 VIEWED 404 STARTED 262 COMPLETED 121 COMPLETION RATE 46% DROP OUTS 141 TIME TO COMPLETE 4 mins “The city could save half a million dollars.” We heard this first from Harry Winthrop at an ALN forum in April. Now we have Naomi Neville’s comments in the Newport Daily News’ Guest View column of 5/28/13 making a clear case for combining School Committee and city resources in managing finances and other administrative services for the schools. Do you think this would this be a good idea? Yes : 61.47%No : 11.01%Maybe : 27.52% Answer Count Percent 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 1. Yes 134 61.47% 2. No 24 11.01% 3. Maybe 60 27.52% Total 218 100% Mean: 1.661 Confidence Interval @ 95%: [1.543 - 1.778] Standard Deviation: 0.882 Standard Error: 0.060 The summer season has begun! In spite of the fact that Newport has ordinances in many neighborhoods prohibiting rentals of less than a month, there is a growing “underground” business in Newport rentals of a week or less operated by individual homeowners. Are you in favor of short-term rentals in most of Newport’s neighborhoods? Answer Count Percent 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 1. [...]
ADD your responses below! Or post them on our Facebook page! Share this with your Newport neighbors, tell us what you think! Your voice, your community, your opinion matters! It has been suggested by a City Council member that property taxpayers whose legal residence is in Newport receive a discount on their taxes. Opponents argue that such an arrangement would discourage second home ownership in Newport, which has been a financial boon to the city. Do you favor a two-tier property tax system? 06/03/2013 7581023 [No] The last thing Newport should be doing is discouraging second home ownership. Non-resident owners contribute equally to the cost of Newport’s services while utilizing fewer of those services, benefiting Newport residents. A prime example is the costs of Newport’s schools. 06/05/2013 7607639 [Yes] A tax exemption would be a benefit to our year round residents. Too many homes are “dark” in the offseason, and while we don’t have to pay to educate children in those homes, having vacant homes is damaging the fabric of our community. I’m not sure that seasonal ownership is a financial boon to anyone but the person who sells their house to someone who wants to live here [...]
ADD your responses below! Or post them on our Facebook page! Share this with your Newport neighbors, tell us what you think! Your voice, your community, your opinion matters! The summer season has begun! In spite of the fact that Newport has ordinances in many neighborhoods prohibiting rentals of less than a month, there is a growing “underground” business in Newport rentals of a week or less operated by individual homeowners. Are you in favor of short-term rentals in most of Newport’s neighborhoods? 06/03/2013 7581023 [Yes] Permitting short-term rentals must be combined with better enforcement of regulations reining in excesses of “party houses.” 06/05/2013 7607714 [No] That is what hotels are for 06/06/2013 7610587 [Yes] It’s happening anyway. Might as well go with it. 06/06/2013 7611297 [Yes] why not will bring in more business and taxes 06/06/2013 7611492 [Yes] short term is probably preferable as it involves people who make a short term commitment..not like the horrible tenant you cannot get rid of! The renters of short term are sometimes I assume family friends…or people who know people…what is the reason to not allow it? 06/06/2013 7610965 [Yes] It’s happening everywhere. There are websites dedicated to the rental business and [...]
ADD your responses below! Or post them on our Facebook page! Share this with your Newport neighbors, tell us what you think! Your voice, your community, your opinion matters! “The city could save half a million dollars.” We heard this first from Harry Winthrop at an ALN forum in April. Now we have Naomi Neville’s comments in the Newport Daily News’ Guest View column of 5/28/13 making a clear case for combining School Committee and city resources in managing finances and other administrative services for the schools. Do you think this would this be a good idea? 06/03/2013 7581023 [Yes] It is an administrative savings that is long overdue. 06/05/2013 7607639 [Yes] Great idea, but it might not result in actual tax savings. The savings would end up on the school side and might not count toward maintenance of effort. Regardless, it is money which could be put toward early education programs. 06/05/2013 7607877 [Maybe] It is worthy of examination. With the proper controls, checks and balances in place, the schools Administrator should not have to worry that educational funds would be siphoned off elsewhere. There is also the concern that the schools would be nickel and dimed to death [...]
NEWPORT, R.I. — A plan to give the Gateway Center on America’s Cup Avenue a new look was unveiled to the public on Wednesday by Evan Smith, the president and CEO of Discover Newport, the regional visitors and convention bureau. He described the plan as practical, affordable and actionable. The building and the 8-acre site are owned by the city of Newport. In 1988, the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority signed a 99-year lease to use part of the site as a bus terminal, so both parties would have to support the redesign. Smith said he was encouraged after meeting with City Manager Jane Howington Wednesday morning and with Mark Therrien, RIPTA’s assistant general manager, in the afternoon. “We want to inspire our partners, realizing we are the tenants,” Smith said. “We are open to the ideas and creativeness of the city and RIPTA if they want to change this redevelopment plan.” Some of the white canvas canopies over the Gateway Center’s walkways were torn up by superstorm Sandy last October and have been removed. Therrien said he would see if federal disaster money is available for the damages. Howington said the city has been in contact with the Federal [...]
Newport City Councilor Michael Farley said a $750,000 shortfall in the 2012-13 school budget should had been reported within five days after it was discovered. By Olga Enger Email the author June 4, 2013 After a budget meeting with members of the Newport City Council and School Committee Thursday, Councilor Michael Farley said a $745,000 school budget shortfall came to light that should had been previously reported. “The school committee had a legal obligation to notify the council of all shortfalls within five days of discovery of this and all other budget shortfalls,” said Farley. At the meeting, Superintendent Jack Ambrogi said because a business manager did not appropriately allocate funds, there was a $600,00 shortfall for tuition and a $145,000 shortfall for bus monitors. “We already put a freeze on the budget back in March because we knew that there were issues,” said Ambrogi. “We already said that we weren’t going to spend any of that capital improvement money this year because we knew there were issues.” In response, Farley made seven requests to the School Committee for supporting documentation under the Freedom of Information Act and the Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act. “It is important to [...]
Categories: 5 Focus Areas - Categories Updates, INFRASTRUCTURE Tags: Alliance for a Livable Newport
Dave Hansen | Staff photographer Visitors take in ‘The Meeting Room’ installation at Queen Anne Square on Friday evening. The park opened to the public earlier in the day. By Sean Flynn | The Newport Daily News | 0 comments NEWPORT, R.I. — Toni McGregor of Newport held her 8-month-old grandson, Lochlan Alistair McGregor, under the arms Friday morning as he splashed his feet on the water table that is a centerpiece of “The Meeting Room” foundation in the newly redesigned Queen Anne Square in Newport. “I think he’s the first child to do this,” McGregor said at the end of a dedication ceremony featuring the artists behind the park’s redesign: internationally known artist and architect Maya Lin; landscape designer Edwina von Gal of Long Island; and stonecarver Nick Benson of Newport, who also has a national reputation. “I think the fountain is going to be a hit,” said Scott Wheeler, the city’s parks and grounds supervisor. “It’s wonderful how Maya Lin designed it to be interactive. It’s a great asset to the park.” Newport police officers estimated more than 400 people attended the dedication ceremony. All 145 seats were filled and crowds of people stood around the perimeter as Gov. Lincoln D. [...]
http://www.newportri.com/newportdailynews/news/newport-s-civic-groups-seeking-a-larger-role/article_da94f827-1289-5b06-becb-d180e815c354.html Posted: Wednesday, May 8, 2013 12:08 am | Updated: 1:56 pm, Wed May 8, 2013. By Sean Flynn l Newport Daily News | 0 comments Leaders of seven active neighborhood associations in Newport said Tuesday night they feel ignored by city and elected officials and will be seeking acknowledgement that they represent the interests of local residents. “My big goal is building cooperation and a sense of trust with the city,” said Beth Cullen, president of the Point Association. Among the changes she would like to see is an “Office of Neighborhoods” in city government, as found in many cities across the country, including Charleston, S.C. Cullen also would like the city’s website to provide links to the web pages of the various neighborhood associations. Besides the Point Association, representatives of the Off-Broadway, the Historic Hill, the Bellevue Avenue-Ochre Point, the Castle Hill and the Top of the Hill neighborhood associations, as well as the new North End Neighborhood Association, met at the St. John the Evangelist Parish House on Poplar Street. Representatives of the citywide Alliance for a Livable Newport, which has had more success getting attention from city officials, also were present. Almost everyone among the two dozen people at [...]
Categories: GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY, INFRASTRUCTURE, NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY, SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION Tags: Alliance for a Livable Newport, Brenton Point State Park, City Manager, Neighborhood association, Newport, Newport Rhode Island, Preservation Society of Newport County, Public safety, Quality of life, Salve Regina University
http://www.newport-now.com/news/open-house-sheds-light%2C-reveals-rifts/ By Tom Shevlin, April 19, 2013 Newport This Week (Newport-Now.com) NEWPORT – School lunches, budgets, the search for a new superintendent, what to do about excess elementary schools, a push for a new parking garage, the redevelopment of the North End, a proposal to require Newport residents to pay as they throw, and the seemingly ever present issue of trust between the city’s top two elected bodies. They were all topics of conversation on Tuesday when the Alliance for a Livable Newport hosted what it called an open house to discuss citywide issues with members of the School Committee and City Council. The roughly hour-long session, which drew about two dozen members of the public to the downstairs meeting room of the Newport Public Library, began with a series of questions related to the city’s public schools. Taking primacy were two lines of questioning: the first seeking clarification regarding the search for a new superintendent, and a second addressing the continued struggles of Rogers High School students on the New England Common Assessment Program, or NECAP, test. Representing the School Committee were Chairman Dr. Charles Shoemaker and Vice Chair Jo Eva Gaines. According to Gaines, in finding the city’s next [...]
Categories: GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY, PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY Tags: Alliance for a Livable Newport, Aquidneck Island Planning Commission, City council, city of newport, High school, NECAP, New England Common Assessment Program, Newport, Newport City Council, Newport Public Library, Newport School District, North End Redevelopment commission, school committee, Tom Shevlin
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