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NEWPORT — Dave North, director of the Newport Public Works department, is retiring from his position.
The announcement came from Mayor Keith Campbell at the Newport City Council’s Monday, May 4 meeting, two weeks after the announcement that his wife, former clerk-treasurer Nickole North, had retired after a cybercrime in February resulted in the theft of $336,588 from the city. Nickole North, who wasn’t suspected of stealing the money, had served the city for about 27 years.
Dave North submitted his resignation Monday, May 4, sometime before the meeting.
“At some point, we will be looking for someone,” Campbell said at the Monday, May 4 meeting. “Maybe not that same position, but that’s something we’ll be looking toward.”
Later, the council unanimously approved a standard operating procedure for council member review of bills and payroll. Council member Nathan Weathers recently proposed such a procedure as a means of establishing a consistent and transparent process for council members’ review of city bills, invoices, claims, payroll records and registers.
The procedure also ensures proper documentation of such reviews, which will be maintained as public record in the form of a bills and payroll review log. When not in use, the log will be in the clerk-treasurer’s custody and must be retained per Washington State Archives records retention laws.
“To me, it’s about minimal complexity,” Weathers said at the Monday, April 20 meeting. “And yet, at the same time, we can leave this better than we found it.”
Council members shall now review bills and payroll on a rotating quarterly basis. Rotations will follow council positions, beginning with Weathers in position No. 1, unless otherwise agreed upon. Mayor Pro Tempore Mark Zorica will participate in the rotation schedule as position No. 4. No other review authority is allowed into the rotation.
Additionally, there will be a one-week overlap at the beginning and end of each quarter. During these weeks, the outgoing and incoming council members in the rotation will review bills and payroll and sign off on all materials.
“This is all derived from the conversation around review,” administrator Abby Gribi said at the meeting.
All five council members are required to follow this procedure. The clerk-treasurer will maintain and publish the annual rotation schedule, with any adjustments approved by the council in January, the start of the fiscal year.
The council members’ responsibilities include reviewing for accuracy, proper authorization and approvals, budget alignment and policy compliance, as well as identifying discrepancies, irregularities or concerns.
Failure to follow the procedure may result in corrective action or a review by the council.
“I appreciate the work,” Weathers said to Gribi.
Also unanimously approved was an interlocal agreement between the city and state Department of Health for funding of a hydrogeological study. Scheduled to begin around July, the study will assess available water sources and analyze alternatives that allow more utilization of authorized groundwater. Two weeks ago, the council tabled the agreement pending further review by the city.
Gribi estimates the study to last about two years, the goal being 18 months. Funding will be delivered upon completion of tasks as scheduled, in compliance with state and federal requirements.
“This cannot go on a backburner, for the simple fact that we don’t wanna lose any more funding if we don’t get this completed,” Zorica said at the meeting. “And then we have to fund this.”
In other business, the council motioned to submit the city’s annual report to state auditors.
A few audience members participated earlier in the meeting, including Troy Moody, who brought attention to certain alleys downtown where graveling appeared to be left incomplete. Coincidentally, Zorica said Kelly’s Bar and Grill had complained about gravel on their parking lot. Zorica added that the alleys by downtown businesses were gaining heavier traffic, which the city needs to address soon.
Representing the Pend Oreille County Historical Society, Sue Mauro discussed with the council ways for the city to join countrywide celebrations of America’s 250th anniversary. The county, historical society, Newport Rodeo and city have all registered as partners of America250, a bipartisan initiative, and are trying to bring special projects like the Freedom Trucks to Newport.
“It’s a big Fourth of July celebration, but it’s all year long,” Mauro said at the meeting.
