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Westbrook Budget Vote May 15

Interested voters in Westbrook should make their way to Westbrook High School, 156 McVeagh Road, on Monday, May 15, at 7 p.m. to attend the town meeting called to approve or deny the proposed budget. The town is proposing a budget with a 4.5 percent increase in spending.

The Board of Finance approved a proposed budget of $ 33,348,689, a $1,441,083 or 4.5% increase over the current fiscal year budget. The board also approved a capital plan with $2,190,240 worth of projects slated for fiscal year 2023-’24.

The entire $33,348,689 proposed budget is a sum that includes a proposed town budget of $13,934,569 and a proposed education budget of $19,414,120.

Voters will vote on the proposed budget and capital plan at a town meeting on May 15.

Board of Finance Chairman Paul Winch said the proposed budget includes some additional expenses, such as creating a new facilities manager position and expanding hours to the social services department. Winch pointed to rising utility costs and medical benefits as significant drivers of the increase in the budget this year but added that he felt there was a silver lining for the town.

“In the last 18 months, the town did settle several negotiations that should fix our costs for the next few years. It’s not glamorous, but it’s important and should help the town going forward,” Winch said in an interview last month.

As for plans in the capital budget, Winch said that money was allocated for a new police cruiser, new radars, and new tasers. Money was also set aside for items like new radios for the fire department and long-term projects like paving, sidewalks, dredging, and land conservation projects.

Unlike neighboring towns Clinton and Old Saybrook, Westbrook passes its budget by town meeting instead of referendum, though that hasn’t always been the case. The town first started using town meetings in 2016 after then-first selectman Noel Bishop cited the declining referendum turnout. In 2015, only 245 voters came out to vote in the 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. referendum.

In 2020, with uncertainty about how to handle the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic swirling, an executive order gave towns the ability to pass the budgets on their own after a public hearing was held.

In 2021, the vote returned to the people, and the town actually held a referendum again. As First Selectman John Hall explained to the Harbor News in 2022, “People weren’t really assembling due to COVID, so rather than have people in one room, we had a referendum.” However, fewer than 100 people turned out to vote that year.

Town meetings take much less time both to conduct and set up than an all-day referendum, though referenda traditionally offer an eight- to 14-hour window for voters to participate while a town meeting requires participation at a specific time, which may not be practical for many would-be voters.

A citizen’s guide intended to inform voters before they vote about the budget and the state of the town’s finances is being finished and will be mailed directly to voters as well as posted on the town website, according to Finance Director Donna Castracane.