South County Times

NEWPORT, R.I. (THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2023) – Newport City Councilors adopted a FY2024 Budget on Wednesday, June 14th.
The roughly a $110 million spending plan, which goes into effect at the start of the City’s fiscal year on July 1st, includes a number of changes to both revenue and expenditures.

TAX RATE
FY2024 will be the first year of the City's new two-tier residential tax program. This program provides an exemption to year-round owner-occupied residences or for those landlords that rent for a minimum of 12 months to tenants that live in Newport year-round. City staff approved 3,624 applications, which is 37.47% of all residential properties, while 109 applications were denied.
The Final Budget sets the City’s overall tax increase at 3.23 percent for residential and commercial property to tax rates of $9.92 and $14.88, respectively.
However, those who qualified for the City’s Two-Tier Residential Property Tax program will receive an exemption on the assessed value of the home equaling roughly $111,000 in FY204 and $148,000 in FY25. Non-resident property owners can expect their property taxes to increase by 13.74 percent. The non-owner-occupied rate would increase by 13.74% to a rate of $10.93 in FY2024. 

SHORT-TERM RENTAL FEES
Property owners who operate Short-Term Rentals in town should also expect to pay more to register their properties next year. As part of the budget, the fee to register a property for use as a Short-Term Rental, or Transient Guest Facility, will increase from the current rate of $100 per year to $500 for home occupation properties and $1,000 non-owner-occupied properties.
The increase will in turn help fund a new dedicated Short Term Rental Administrator position, who will work with the City’s existing Short-Term Rental Officer and Deputy Zoning Officers to oversee the estimated 400 Short Term Rental units located throughout the City.
 
NEWPORT PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING
As part of its annual budget process, the City also increased funding by 2 percent to the Newport Public Schools to help support their annual operations.
The Council also approved additional funding for road and sidewalk repairs, civic support, and the creation of several new staff positions focused on planning and constituent services.
More information about the budget process, including a link to the final adopted version, can be found on the City’s website at www.CityofNewport.com/Budget.

Original source can be found here.