Hello Newport! I am enjoying so much meeting and speaking with the residents and visitors. Newport is such a gem. I am grateful for the strong attendance at the Mayor’s hours. This is your opportunity to speak with the Mayor and meet and join your fellow residents; and it has proven to be invaluable time together. It is all about you and our City. Our progress and the good coming from the new policies and procedures and changes being made.
OUR RESIDENTS GET APPOINTED
The Council adopted the Vermont 250th Anniversary Resolution signed into executive order to crate the Vermont 250th Anniversary Commission on December 15, 2020. The President of the Council and the Mayor selected our very own residents, Adam Ortiz and Audra Pitts to be the liaisons for the City of Newport. Thank you for accepting this volunteer assignment. Newport is well-served.
WORKING HARD
The Council is working diligently to select our next Fire Chief. Long hours behind executive session doors to interview the candidates have begun and will continue at this upcoming Council meeting. Thank you to our council member fire department liaison, Rick Ufford-Chase, for coordinating the interviews. Many great candidates have applied and interviews and second interviews are taking place. Newport’s safety is our priority.
Thank you to the President of the Council, Chris Vachon, for working with the Mayor to screen candidates for the Extra Mile America Foundation. Thank you, residents, for submitting your choices. Keep them coming. Send them to the President of the Council or the Mayor. Extra Mile Day is important. As our local news continues to be clouded daily with negative energy, the Council members are not immune to the struggles and challenges faced by our residents and our City. This opportunity to recommend our residents who have gone beyond to keep our City vibrant and healthy is a powerfully positive gesture. So shout out to us with the names of your nominations.
LEGAL AND CITY TIME AND COSTS
The PRA requests have not stopped—And that is the people’s right. However, be thoughtful. Are these PRA requests really for the benefit of the City or for some other agenda (and at such a high cost of not only human capital, but money money money to the City?). Remember, the time spent on these searches robs the City of valuable Council, legal and employee and consultant’s time that need to be spent on projects to better the City.
Thank you to the liaison to DPW, Council member, Clark Curtis, for meeting with me and the City attorneys to discuss the Lakemont situation. A huge thank you to the board at Lakemont for inviting me to meet, and to the Zoning Administrator for joining me, as we went over the needs of Lakemont and how we need to collaborate to find proper solutions and complete projects. Remember, if you need to have the Mayor come to your business or development for a specific a purpose, those appointments should be made for a Wednesday from 9-11:00 AM, as that is the Mayor hour times set for these visits and meetings. Monday mornings from 9-11:00 AM is open Mayor hours at the Council room.
TRAININGS
The Mayor is looking into leadership and policy and legislative trainings for the Council members, Department heads, and employees to assist with leadership skills and compliance and networking opportunities to make our City a better place to work. I am a member of the Mayors’ Coalition in Vermont and will be working with them to better our Cities.
BALANCE SHEET AND INCOME STATEMENT
The Mayor is working with the President of the Council and the City Attorneys to be sure that appropriate real estate has clear title and is properly accounted for on the City’s balance sheet. The Mayor and the President of the Council are also looking at financial protocols for benefits, reimbursements, City credit card expenses and other chart of accounts. The proper allocations to the various department budgets will also be looked at.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING FORUM AND CRIME UPDATE-COMMUNITY FORUM
See you at The Gateway at 6:00 PM on September 25, 2024. Please be certain to join Orleans County State Attorney, Farzana Leyva, and the Mayor, as they host an expert panel on these two important topics. Thank you to our Police Chief, Travis Bingham, for always making Newport’s safety a number one priority and for helping with this Community Forum and being on the panel. Farzana Leyva will also be a panelist, along with Sheriff Jenn Harlow. U.S. Attorney Nikolas Kerest, Katie Newell and Ryan bjerk will also be members of the esteemed panel. A huge thank you to NEKTV for filming the community forum on September 25, 2024.
As a hands-on Mayor as found under the Charter, I am proud to work for our City. Your Council members are putting in time to understand more fully what has happened historically and how to move our City efficiently forward. Yes, it will not happen overnight, but people have already commented on feeling the shift and the changes for the better. As your elected officials, we care about you Newport. Thank you for your confidence, Your Mayor, Linda Joy Sullivan
