NEWPORT — Finance directors in small towns, especially those struggling to find enough money for needed services, sometimes find themselves in conflict with residents.

If they propose a budget with a double-digit increase and a corresponding tax increase, they risk being criticized of overspending by taxpayers.

During his 32 years as Newport’s finance director, Paul Brown can lay claim to sustaining the confidence of residents and town officials despite at times delivering unpleasant financial news, such as new residential property assessments a few years ago.

“Certainly we are economically disadvantaged with a lower property tax base and that makes it difficult on all sides 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 Finance Director Ronna Johnson, a Newport native.

Brown, who was paid around $125,000 a year at the time of his retirement, believes he has earned residents’ respect over the years by demonstrating sensible financial practices and keeping the focus on  th e issue at hand.

“I think they understood that I am pretty conservative and not going to go out and start spending money and raising taxes for no apparent reason,” Brown said. “That level of trust got to the point that people took what I said, and maybe they weren’t happy about it, but they understood it and accepted it.”

On the night Brown introduced Johnson — who is earning a salary of $97,500 — to the Selectboard last month, Selectboard Chairman Jim Burroughs praised Brown for the length of his tenure and the benefits he brought to Newport.

"His great value to Newport has been the continuity and stability in government for 32 years," said Burroughs this week, adding that Brown oversaw the expenditure of nearly $250 million in town funds during his time in Newport. "He has been so consistent that people know their hard-earned tax dollars are being looked at appropriately.”

Board member Bert Spaulding, who has been known to tangle with town and school officials and others, found no fault with Brown.

“I’m not easy to work with,” Spaulding said, adding “some people might say I’m inquisitive; intrusive at times, overly direct, and you put up with it all this time. You never lost your temper or anything like it.”

Raised in Portland, Maine, Brown started work at a Manchester CPA firm out of college but was not looking forward to the extensive travel required.

"I was about to get married and 39 weeks a year in a hotel room and driving 40,000-plus miles was not a good life for a young marriage," Brown said in a recent interview. “I started looking for something more permanent in government. Newport was not on my target, but it was open and seemed like a good fit.”

Only once, early in his time in Newport did he consider leaving, Brown said. It was just a few years after Newport hired him and Brown was looking for a bigger challenge in public finance. However, after failing to land a position in a large city, Brown decided to establish roots 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 town manager who hired him.

“Dan told me, ‘Answer what is asked.’ It is not personal. I would just address the issue as it stands before the town and as I see it from a financial standpoint,” said Brown, who avoided quarreling with residents or town officials in public meetings.

Brown has witnessed three decades of change in town. Though the population has stayed around 6,200 the last 30 years, budgets and property values have grown.

When Brown first came to Newport in 1993, the town budget was $4.4 million. Voters approved a $10.45 million budget in 2023. Most of that increase can be attributed to inflation, as well as increased regulations. (The proposed $11.54 million budget for 2024 was defeated at the $10.8 million default budget implemented.)

The grand list, which is the total value of property in town, was $246 million 30 years ago and the most recent revaluation brought it to $745 million.

Besides everything costing more, the biggest change Brown said he has seen during his time in Newport is that there are more state and federal regulations. Requirements for commercial drivers licenses and stricter environmental regulations are two examples, Brown said. Newport is currently working on federally mandated upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant, to the tune of several million dollars.

In addition to managing the town’s finances, Brown has assumed different roles from time to time while maintaining the finance director's job. He has served as interim town manager a few times and was appointed town manager for four years prior to the hiring of Hunter Rieseberg in 2016. After Rieseberg left last July, Brown again was named interim manager until current Town Manager Kyle Harris was hired in February.

Burroughs said Brown's willingness to step in and serve other roles on a temporary basis has been invaluable to Newport and is another example of how Brown has served Newport with distinction.

"He never said, 'It's not my job' but instead asked how he could make Newport better," Burroughs said 

He once held a similar role for the Newport School District, which has gone through multiple business administrators during Brown’s time with municipal government. Business Administrator Rob DiGregorio, who resigned in June, is the most recent to depart that role for the district.

Brown, whose demeanor and public speaking style are reserved and sometimes tinged with a touch of dry humor, said he has encountered several residents who said they were sorry to see him leave.

In his retirement from full-time work, Brown said Newport, which is paying him $75 an hour, is only one town for which he plans to serve as a consultant. He has started his own consulting business.

Spaulding, during his remarks at the Selectboard meeting, said Brown will be missed.

“Paul, thank you,” Spaulding said. “You have my respect forever. You have done a wonderful job in this community, and ... I don’t give compliments very often.”

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.