All City Meetings will be Moved out of City Hall

City officials have concluded that any public meeting being held at City Hall would be in violation of the Open Meetings Act after a state Attorney General's office ruling earlier this month.

The ruling was based on a complaint filed by a local woman who couldn't attend a City Council meeting in person last year. The City Council met at Newport Public Library this week in the wake of the ruling.

City officials now are making arrangements for all meetings to now be held in alternate locations until improvements to the elevator and lift at City Hall can be completed. And that could be a while, as the improvements are pegged to a bond referendum that will appear on the November ballot.

The City Council approved a resolution earlier this month paving the way for the measure to get put on the ballot. It was spearheaded by Councilor Jeanne Napolitano.

The City Council's next meeting on June 25 is reportedly to be in the Edward King House Senior Center at 35 King Street.