By John Schwing

WESTPORT — A $254 million budget package — nearly $11 million, or 4.4 percent, more than current spending — is being proposed for the town’s 2025-26 fiscal year.

The Board of Finance on Wednesday got a detailed presentation on spending plans for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1, from town and education officials.

First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker unveiled her $87.5 million budget proposed for town government departments, while Board of Education Chair Lee Goldstein and Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice presented the $150.3 million operating budget recommended for the school district, which earlier this year was reviewed and approved by the school board at a series of public meetings.

The finance meeting at Town Hall was primarily devoted to an overview of the numbers, with most board members withholding comments and questions until hearings planned later in the month. Once the panel approves a 2025-26 budget later this spring, the spending plans move to the Representative Town Meeting for a final vote in May.

Finance board members have already convened several meetings over the last few weeks to discuss spending requests with departmental leaders.

Tooker, detailing her side of the budget, noted that it marks the fourth time that, as first selectwoman, she has presented a town budget for the finance board’s consideration. What she did not say is that it will be her last, because earlier in the week she announced that she will not seek re-election and plans instead to run for governor in 2026.

As a prelude to her budget presentation, Tooker ticked off a list of capital projects — some in the planning stages, others mired in controversy — including traffic and pedestrian safety upgrades, plans to redesign downtown parking lots, prospects for affordable housing on Baron’s South, status of the Longshore Capital Improvement Plan, flood mitigation and a concept for a consolidated public safety complex.

Goal of keeping taxes “competitive”

Turning to the proposed budget, Tooker said it was prepared to ensure Westport’s mill rate remains competitive with taxes in area communities. Westport’s tax rate approved last year is 18.62 mills; 1 mill is equal to $1 in tax for every $1,000 worth of a property’s assessed value.

The budget is designed so the tax rate will “stay stable, will stay competitive and make sure we’re delivering value for money,” Tooker said.

For the town side of the ledger, Tooker’s recommendation of $87.5 million would rise from the current $84.3 million, an approximate increase of 3.8 percent.

The largest departmental account is public safety, encompassing the Police and Fire departments, at $27.8 million, up from current spending of $27 million.

The next largest account is for town employee pensions, “OPEBs” (other post-employment benefits) and insurance, at nearly $21 million. Those costs are projected to chart the largest increase, about 9.5 percent, among all the town-side budget accounts.

The third largest town-side account is for public works, with a requested $14.1 million, up from $13.8 million in the current budget.

Expenditures for the Westport Library, the Westport Transit District and Aspetuck Health District are accounted for outside the general government budget since they are not completely town-managed entities.

The town’s contributions to the library budget, inclusive of employee pensions, would be $6.3 million, rising from $5.95 currently.

Expenditures for the transit district — a flashpoint in previous years’ budget deliberations — are recommended to rise from $445,000 to just over $490,000 next year.

And for the health district, the town’s recommended allocation would be roughly $606,000, a rise from about $595,000.

Education spending still largest, but trimmed

The proposed education operating budget, as presented by Goldstein and Scarice, would stand at approximately $150.4 million, increasing about 4.7 percent from this year’s $143.6 million. However, employee health insurance costs, which are not yet firmly settled for next year, could affect the bottom line, school officials warned.

In addition, the school district’s debt service is projected to rise to $7.7 million, up from about $7.3 million this year.

Spending for the school district, which Goldstein and the superintendent described as the best in the state, comprises the far largest share of annual municipal expenditures, tallying about 63 percent of the total for the next fiscal year.

Goldstein noted that during Board of Education deliberations on spending plans, the panel cut three new jobs — two assistant elementary school principals and a facilities coordinator — from the budget recommended by Sacrice.

The board, aiming to find more savings, cut two school buses from the current fleet, and may make further reductions in the future if that decision does not cause disruptions, school officials said.

A deeper analysis of the education budget was presented by several assistant superintendents on issues like enrollment trends and the costs of special education programs.

John Schwing, interim editor of the Westport Journal, has held senior editorial and writing posts at southwestern Connecticut media outlets for four decades. Learn more about us here.