By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — The Board of Finance passed First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker’s proposed town-side budget for 2024-25 on Monday night.

The town budget stands at $84,380,124, $1.6 million, or 1.96 percent, more than the current fiscal year.

For the first time in a long time, there were no cuts. Most notably, no slashing of the Westport Transit District funding, which had become an annual dance. The Board of Finance would trim the funding only to see the Representative Town Meeting restore it.

This year, no Transit Two-Step.

Perhaps that’s because of the turnover on the Board of Finance. Only two members who sat at last year’s budget hearings remain, Chairman Lee Caney and member Michael Keller. But there was an extended discussion of the funding.

Also of note is that the various budget votes within the town spending plan came with an asterisk.

There was some confusion about the agenda, Caney said. One version said the budget would be presented by the first selectwoman. Another said a vote would be taken.

Representative Town Meeting member Jennifer Johnson, District 9, had raised concerns about the noticing.

“We’re going to take an initial vote, and then in our April meeting, to give anyone the opportunity who was confused by the agenda item, we’re going to have more public comment, if anyone has public comment, and then we’re going to take a final vote.”

Caney said the board has in recent years viewed the transit district’s funding as two components — the Wheels2U Westport shuttle bus service for train riders and door-to-door rides for elderly and disabled residents.

“Like in the past, I’m going to vote against the Wheels2U tonight because I don’t see it as public transportation, I see it as an Uber service,” he said.

“It costs the taxpayers … a substantial amount of money to take people to the train station and back a lot more than an Uber would cost,” Caney said. “We have single people on most of our buses, which is from an energy efficiency standpoint is not what public transportation is about.”

The service is heavily subsidized, but mostly by the state.

Member Liz Heyer said she understood the historic concerns, but noted there’s a new transit director [Karina Betfarhad, in addition to Co-Director Peter Gold].

“There does seem to be a refreshed commitment to understanding the data to see if there is some type of viable service that can be either be run at a sort of break-even or at a subsidy that we as a town feel is appropriate,” Heyer said.

Jeff Hammer said he’d vote in favor of the transit funding.

“I think it’s a noble, social goal for us as Westport to help transport people who can’t afford to get to places in a community-wide way,” he said.

But, he said, next year he’d hope to see a better understanding of the data and the transit models to see if it’s working.

“We are under state pressure to up our game when it comes to affordable housing,” he said. “Providing transport is an important component to creating housing that’s affordable that people can access. So, it all kind of works together.”

He called the funding a small downpayment on doing the right thing.

“Most of the people commuting into the city are commuting in for white collar jobs,” Caney contended.

Hammer said a report stated 45 percent of the riders live in homes under a million dollars, meaning that they “might be stretched with respect to having two cars, having three cars.”

“A million-dollar home in Westport doesn’t buy as much as it would elsewhere,” Hammer said.

“Saying a million-dollar house in Westport is not expensive to me doesn’t make sense,” Caney said.

“Second of all, it’s not public transport,” he said. “We’re taking one person at a time. It’s not reducing congestion.”

“I do think that investing in micro-transit and public transport in Westport is a reflection of our values,” member Danielle Dobin said.

She mentioned the 8-30g affordable housing projects coming soon to town, under a state law.

“That’s going to result in more Westporters who lack their own means of transportation,” Dobin said. “I think that this service is critical for the people that use it. I think we need more information and a deeper diving into the data, but certainly it does seem that a fair number of regular riders live in more modest houses.”

“There’s a new team in place,” member Rich Hightower said. “I know Karina and her team are working hard to rationalize things just a little bit, which is maybe all we can hope for given that it is a public service. It’s never going to turn a profit. If we’re having the same conversation 12 months from now that probably is a problem.”

“For the time being I’m inclined to approve it,” he said.

Keller said that he, like Caney, would still like to see data to support the program.

“I applaud the optimism, I hope I’m wrong, I hope next year, we’ll see what happens with the vote but I’m not in favor of it,” Keller said.

Caney made a motion to reduce the transit district budget by $342,909, the portion allocated to Wheels2U service. Keller seconded, but it sputtered and stalled.

A discussion about diesel buses and their emissions, with few riders, ensued.

Betfarhad said that the Norwalk Transit District, which the Westport Transit District contracts to provide its services, plans to transition to smaller, more green-friendly vans.

Hammer suggested the budget be approved as is, “but hold them accountable to next year.”

“I also think it’s a bit of an exercise in futility, since I think it’s likely the RTM would restore anyway,” Dobin said.

Hammer, Heyer, Hightower and Dobin voted to pass the transit portion of the budget. Caney and Keller were opposed.

The budget will move on to the RTM, which is the town’s ultimate funding body.

Thane Grauel grew up in Westport and has been a journalist in Fairfield County and beyond for 36 years. Reach him at editor@westportjournal.com. Learn more about us here.