NEWPORT — Finance directors in small towns, especially those struggling to find enough money for necessary services, sometimes find themselves at odds with residents.
If they propose a budget with a double-digit increase and a corresponding tax increase, they risk being criticized for excessive spending by taxpayers.
In his 32 years as Newport’s chief financial officer, Paul Brown can say he has maintained the trust of residents and city officials, even though he has sometimes delivered unpleasant financial news, such as the new residential property assessments a few years ago.
“We are certainly economically disadvantaged with a lower property tax base and that makes it difficult at all levels of the tax rate,” Brown said.
Brown, 60, officially retired on Aug. 9, though he is under contract as a consultant two days a week through next June to assist new CFO Ronna Johnson, a Newport native.
Brown, who earned about $125,000 a year when he retired, said he has earned the respect of residents over the years by practicing sound financial practices and staying focused on the issue at hand.
“I think they understood that I’m pretty conservative and I’m not going to spend money and raise taxes for no apparent reason,” Brown said. “That level of trust grew to a point where people took what I was saying, and maybe they weren’t happy about it, but they understood it and accepted it.”
The night Brown introduced Johnson — who earns a salary of $97,500 — to the Selectboard last month, Selectboard Chairman Jim Burroughs praised Brown for his length of tenure and the benefits he has brought to Newport.
“His great value to Newport has been the continuity and stability of government for 32 years,” Burroughs said this week, adding that Brown has overseen the spending of nearly $250 million in city funds during his tenure in Newport. “He has been so consistent that people know their hard-earned tax dollars are being looked at appropriately.”
Board member Bert Spaulding, known for his conflicts with city, school and other officials, found no fault with Brown.
“I’m not easy to be around,” Spaulding said, adding: “Some might say I’m nosy, sometimes intrusive, too direct, and you’ve put up with that throughout this period. You’ve never lost your temper or anything like that.”
Raised in Portland, Maine, Brown began working at a Manchester accounting firm after college but wasn’t eager for the extensive traveling it required.
“I was about to get married, and spending 39 weeks a year in a hotel room and driving 40,000 miles was not an ideal life for a young couple,” Brown said in a recent interview. “I started looking for a more permanent government job. Newport wasn’t on my radar, but it was open and seemed like a good fit.”
Brown said he considered leaving only once, early in his time at Newport. It was just a few years after he was hired by Newport, and Brown was looking for a bigger challenge in public finance. However, after failing to land a job in a big city, Brown decided to settle in Newport, where he and his wife, Lisa, an elementary school teacher, raised three children.
Brown said he learned an important lesson early on from Dan O’Neill, the longtime Newport city manager who hired him.
“Dan told me to respond to what’s asked. It’s not personal. I’m just going to address the issue as it’s presented to the city and as I see it from a financial standpoint,” said Brown, who has avoided picking fights with residents or city officials at public meetings.
Brown has witnessed three decades of change in the city. Although the population has remained around 6,200 for the past 30 years, budgets and property values have increased.
When Brown first arrived in Newport in 1993, the city’s budget was $4.4 million. Voters approved a $10.45 million budget for 2023. Most of that increase can be attributed to inflation, as well as tighter regulations. (The proposed $11.54 million budget for 2024 was rejected in favor of the $10.8 million default budget that was implemented.)
The grand list, which represents the total value of the city’s properties, was $246 million 30 years ago and the most recent revaluation put it at $745 million.
Besides everything costing more, the biggest change he’s seen during his time in Newport is the increase in federal and state regulations. Commercial driver’s license requirements and stricter environmental regulations are two examples, Brown said. Newport is currently working on multimillion-dollar federally mandated upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant.
In addition to managing the city’s finances, Brown has taken on various roles from time to time while retaining the position of CFO. He served as interim city manager a few times and was named city manager for four years before Hunter Rieseberg was hired in 2016. After Rieseberg left last July, Brown was again named interim city manager until current city manager Kyle Harris was hired in February.
Burroughs said Brown’s willingness to step in and serve in other positions on a temporary basis has been invaluable to Newport and is another example of how Brown has served Newport with distinction.
“He never said, ‘That’s not my job,’ but rather asked how he could improve Newport,” Burroughs said.
He previously held a similar position with the Newport School District, which has had several business administrators during Brown’s tenure in city government. Business Administrator Rob DiGregorio, who resigned in June, is the most recent to leave that position for the district.
Brown, whose demeanor and public speaking style are reserved and sometimes tinged with a touch of deadpan humor, said he has met several residents who said they were sorry to see him go.
After leaving his full-time job, Brown said Newport, where he makes $75 an hour, is just one of the cities he’s considering working as a consultant. He’s started his own consulting business.
Spaulding, speaking at the board meeting, said Brown will be missed.
“Paul, thank you,” Spaulding said. “You have my respect forever. You’ve done a tremendous job in this community, and … I don’t give compliments very often.”
You can contact Patrick O’Grady at pogclmt@gmail.com.
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