Politics & Government

Farley's Financial Transparency Proposal Fails To Gain Support

A proposal to track what Newport Councilor Michael Farley referred to as a "slush fund" for local politicians, failed to receive support from any of his fellow councilors

A resolution that Councilor Michael Farley said would improve financial transparency failed to receive a second and was not put to a vote during Newport City Council Wednesday evening. 

“The sister city program is a good program, but it has a reputation for being a slush fund which pays for travel expenses and bar tabs for local politicians,” said Farley after the meeting.

Farley proposed the $30,000 allocated to the Sister City Program would be allocated and tracked similar to most city expenses — within the general operating fund. Today, rental payments from the Newport County Visitor Center are deposited into a restricted account for the program. Any surplus beyond the $30,000 is cut back to the general fund once a year. 

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“I wanted to honor my promise to try to make government more transparent,” said Farley after the meeting. "I think we can do a little better with how we spend city money, but I just don't have the votes. We will have to find another way to improve transparency in this program.”


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