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NEWPORT — The heads of Newport’s police, public works and wastewater treatment plant presented to the Newport City Council their requests for next year’s budget, along with reports for the fall quarter.
In total, the departments requested $297,000 for new programs, equipment and projects at the city council’s Monday, Nov. 3 meeting.
Wade Nelson, Newport Police Department chief, was first to present to the city council. The only request he had for next year’s budget was for a Flock Safety system, which would install license plate readers and continuously recording cameras in the city.
Flock Safety is used by law enforcement agencies nationwide, Nelson said at the meeting. The system would allow Newport police officers to identify cars involved in crimes and share that information with the thousands of other law enforcement agencies contracted with Flock Safety. Civilians, including those with Ring cameras, can also opt into the system. If the city approves this request, Nelson said the Newport Police Department would work with the Newport School District to integrate its cameras into the system as well. The Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office will also contract with Flock Safety “eventually,” Nelson said.
A contract with Flock Safety costs $9,000 annually, and Newport’s contract would have a life of three years. That would fund at least two cameras, one for each main entry point into the city, Nelson said. He predicts that the system will assist with Newport’s “drug problem” by identifying vehicles in drug runs.
“It’ll be completely secure. No one else can see it but us. It would be going directly to law enforcement. We can use it in our cases,” Nelson said. “So, it’s a really good system and it’s getting more robust as it goes. For us, I think it’d be a huge benefit for cutting crime down.”
Mayor Keith Campbell referred to the system as a “great tool” for law enforcement.
Nelson reported to the city council that most major crimes in Newport have decreased, with no serious felony occurring in the city for “quite a while,” he said. Police officer contacts have increased from 66 to 80 per month, while calls to his department have increased to 250 per month.
“Crime’s gone way down,” Nelson said. “So, we’re happy, I’m happy with that.”
After Nelson, public works director Dave North presented his requests to the city council: $34,000 for streets, $38,000 for parks and $91,000 for water.
For streets, Dave North said at the meeting that he wanted his department to try a liquid deicer this year, the tank and spray bar for which cost a total of $17,000. Another $17,000 would go toward gravel and miscellaneous equipment parts.
About $30,000 for parks would fund the addition of a fence around the city’s recreational vehicle park. Repairs to the fence around Newport City Park and a replacement of the gate to the Spray Park within would cost an additional $8,000.
The $91,000 for water includes a $10,000 pump replacement in the J water well, which was installed alongside the K water well that failed. The public works department also requested $30,000 to continue applying a service on the D, E and B wells to “keep them producing good,” city clerk Nickole North said Tuesday, Nov. 4. Replacement water meters, resale water meters and meter setters would cost an additional $37,000, water disinfectant and miscellaneous resale pipe and fittings $24,000.
City council member Mark Zorica asked Dave North if he foresaw any issues with water this winter. North replied that he did not think so.
“I think we’ll be OK. I think everything’s pretty good right now,” he said. “They say winter is the roughest time, … but we don’t really have any high use in the winter, so it’s fine.”
North reported to the city council that his department installed the Washington State Department of Transportation-provided crosswalk lights along Washington Avenue in time for Halloween. The public works department is now preparing for winter, part of which will involve repairing some city lights.
“We’ve just been getting ready for winter right now,” North said.
Last to present was Josh Howard, wastewater treatment plant superintendent. He requested $40,000 for a biosolids trailer and $85,000 for a service truck with a crane, both of which the city would purchase used.
Howard reported to the city council that the city’s wastewater collection system had all been cleaned, except for a couple of small sections. Big Sky Industrial crews are scheduled to return and clean and camera those sections later this week or early next week. Meanwhile, the city is rescheduling work on the Pleggers lift station, at Eighth Street and Silver Birch Lane, to 2026 due to recurring equipment issues. On the wastewater treatment plant, Howard said the city had two violations in October, neither of which was “a big deal.” The first was the result of a bad test, the second of super-saturation in the samples. The wastewater treatment plant has also been improving its testing with assistance from the Washington State Department of Ecology and Evergreen Rural Water.
The wastewater treatment plant continues to spend “a lot” of money to kill a certain bacteria- growing bug with chlorine — a process Howard said was working.
“Other than that, plant’s doing really, really good,” Howard said. “Coming into winter, looking really healthy.”
The Newport City Council is holding two upcoming hearings: a revenue hearing at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17, and a preliminary budget hearing at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 1. If there are no amendments to it after Monday, Dec. 1, Nickole North said the city council could pass next year’s budget that day after the meeting. Regardless, the city council must pass next year’s budget before the end of this year.
She expects the city to approve all budget requests presented Monday, Nov. 3 but one: Dave North’s request for fencing around the RV park.
“This year, I think I will only be able to budget half of that, and then maybe half the following year,” North said.
