Letter: Council ignored islanders on public safety funding

Posted 6/17/19

To the editor:

On Wednesday, June 12, the Portsmouth Town council held a public hearing on the FY 2020 town budget. The council chambers were filled with many Prudence Island residents who …

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Letter: Council ignored islanders on public safety funding

Posted

To the editor:

On Wednesday, June 12, the Portsmouth Town council held a public hearing on the FY 2020 town budget. The council chambers were filled with many Prudence Island residents who traveled by ferry that evening to appeal the council to reconsider funding for the Prudence Island Volunteer Fire Department. These residents were well-prepared and spoke eloquently about their cause. They want and need funding for training and portable radios to bring them into the 21st century.

This important town organization was, I believe, wrongfully listed by Portsmouth under civic support in the budget. PI Fire is as important as any other town department. For over 30 minutes, residents of Prudence as well as other Portsmouth residents, All spoke in favor of this money going to the PI volunteers. Not one resident spoke against this funding. This writer even pointed out that several members of this council had voted over $45,000 in other civic support to non-essential pet organizations (AIPC, Clean Ocean Access, Common Fence Point Arts, Eastern Rhode Island Conservation, Newport Mental Health).

Residents’ pleas fell on the deaf ears of at least four councilors. The same four (Mr. Katzman, Dr. Ryan, Ms. Ujifusa, Ms.Abbott) who voted to constrain our free speech at council meetings, were once again disengaged and ignored an entire council chamber full of residents. 

In their frustration, the Prudence residents accused the councilors of not valuing them as they would the rest of Portsmouth’s residents. Mr. Katzman denied this, but then refused to second Mr. Hamilton’s motion to reconsider the moneys. (Mr. Aguiar, the council president, was forbidden by the rules from voicing a second. Mr. Kelly was again absent.) Dr. Ryan, Ms. Ujifusa, and Ms. Abbott also remained silent on the motion, thus refusing to even discuss the possibility of giving up any money they had added to this already tight budget for their own special interest groups or pet projects.

All residents of Portsmouth, especially Prudence Island residents, need to attend the June 24, 2019 Town Council meeting, where the council members will have the final vote on FY 2020 budget. Portsmouth residents must, at least, try to embarrass the council members into really listening to the residents that they say they serve. If we are not consistently aggressive in letting the council know our wants and needs, members of this council will continue to ignore the residents in favor of their special-interest groups and pet projects.

Nancy Grieb

110 Thayer Drive 

Portsmouth

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