Newport’s transparency troubles just got worse — and this time, there’s a paper trail.
A leaked email obtained by Newport Buzz shows City Manager Colin K. Kennedy instructing councilors that key budget presentation slide decks will not be released to the public until after the workshops are over.
Let that sink in.
Residents are already being asked to digest a sprawling, $120+ million city budget on a rushed timeline — and now, the detailed presentations explaining how that money is being spent are being deliberately withheld until it’s too late to matter.
In the email, Kennedy writes that the slide decks for Monday’s Public Safety budget workshop “will not be posted on our website until at least the day after the workshop they pertain to.”
Translation: The public gets the information after decisions are debated — not before.
This comes on the heels of mounting criticism over the city’s decision to drop the full budget late on a Friday, giving taxpayers just a weekend to review hundreds of pages before workshops began.
Now, even the simplified breakdowns — the very tools meant to help residents understand the numbers — are being kept under wraps.
Why?
City Hall hasn’t offered a clear explanation. But the pattern is raising eyebrows.
First, a Friday afternoon budget dump. Now, a blackout on presentation materials until after public discussion.
If transparency is about giving the public a meaningful chance to engage, this isn’t it.
It’s the opposite.
By the time residents see the slide decks, the conversations — and potentially the direction of spending — will already be underway.
And for a city that’s asking taxpayers to weigh in on everything from public safety spending to infrastructure and utilities, that timing matters.
A lot.
The question now isn’t just about process.
It’s simple: What is City Hall trying to keep out of public view — and why?
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