Newport Fesses Up, City Revenues Paid For 'Sister City' Trips

NEWPORT, RI — Mayor Harry Winthrop will this week host a reception for the mayor of Kinsale, Ireland, and other dignitaries from Newport's Sister City. The cities' international connection has proved a success, particularly for Newport's travel and tourism businesses, Winthrop said, pointing to T.F. Green flights between Cork, Ireland and Providence on Norwegian Air.

"Without the strong relationship between Newport and Kinsale, this flight would not be feasible," he said. "I don't know the exact economic impact, but it must be in tens of millions of dollars annually. This is a true economic success story for our Sister City relationship with Kinsale."

Kinsale and Newport have been Sister Cities for 19 years. Evan Smith, president of Discover Newport, supports the Sister Cities program. His tourism group closes more sales in connection with Sister Cities than by going to trade shows and conventions, he said.

But there is one caveat — the Sister Cities source of funds. Smith says Discover Newport does not give Newport any grants, stipends or other money to pay for the councilors' trips abroad. When the politicians have traveled — as they have for more than a decade — to Sister Cities in Japan and Italy, as well as in Ireland - it's the City of Newport that has paid.

Nor does Discover Newport bankroll the city's Hospitality Commission, which organizes the events and entertainment stateside. Once again, Newport pays.

That's not the way most people understand the situation, or how Newport officials have answered questions from Patch and other media in the past.

Patch asked Winthrop if he plans to correct the misinformation his predecessor has spread for more than a decade. He set the record straight in an e-mail Wednesday, after Patch made it known it was writing about the topic. "The money from Discover Newport is not a grant; it's revenue from the lease of the building," he said.

Past councilors had repeatedly insisted the money for councilors' trips is not City money but a "stipend" from Discover Newport, as Providence Business Week reported in its article on Sister Cities.

According to public documents, which Patch obtained after nearly a year through a formal public records request, almost all of the money for councilors' travels comes from the City. Some of it comes from the so-called Sister City escrow account, where revenues from the Gateway Center lease are deposited. Then the Newport School District kicks in for exchange trips for students and a chaperone with the Sister Cities program. Money has also come from the operating budget. Some funding may also come from the state.

Bottom line: If you pay property taxes in Newport, you should go to the reception Friday at 5 at Gateway Center. It's more than likely a fun time. Plus, you paid for it.

Getting the records was no easy task.

Last spring, Patch asked Newport's finance director for a look at the escrow account records for the the past two years.

Initially, Finance Director Laura Sitrin said this: "There was an agreement with Discover Newport that the City would take over the Sister City program and Discover Newport would give us $30,000 annually to pay for the program. That money is put into a restricted account and is used solely for the Sister City program. No other monies are used to pay for that program."

Not according to Smith.

Advised that Patch had already talked to Smith at Discover Newport, Sitrin declined to provide any information without a Freedom of Information Act form.

Patch made the request. Then the City provided a few records — not all of them — and said other records were not available because they had not been kept. The City Clerk asked for additional time. Then the clerk provided a few more documents, but still not all of them.

Patch appealed to the Attorney General's office. It took several rounds. At one point, the City claimed the list of people who went on the trips had been "buried deep" in the archives and was unknown to anyone but one administrative assistant.

Ultimately, the City produced a list and minutes from the city's January 20, 2016 Hospitality Commission that proved on at least one occasion, in 2015, the City did dip into its operating fund to pay for the councilors' trips abroad.

Otherwise, the money came from the escrow account via the Gateway Center lease. The school district's financing was separate.

As for the parties and events the mayor throws here for the Sister Cities delegation? Girard Galvin, assistant city solicitor, told the state Attorney General's office it was Discover Newport again. It gives the Newport Hospitality Commission the money for expenses, Galvin indicated.

Patch checked out that claim. too.

No, Andrea McHugh, Discover Newport spokeswoman, said. That's not true.

"The Newport Hospitality Commission is a function of the City of Newport," she said. "We do not give the hospitality commission any money." She went on to speculate "the account you are referring to would likely be the lease money."