By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — The Finance and Education boards met jointly Tuesday night to talk about major expenditures the town will face in coming years — and the potential for a big jump in taxes.

It was a different dynamic than other recent meetings between the two town bodies, mainly because it was outside budget season, where discussions at times have been more like showdowns.

“We should do this more frequently,” finance board member James Foster said near the end of the meeting.

“Having some more regular dialogue, when we’re just sitting around the table, trying to talk through what we think’s going to happen, where the surprises might be, I think is really valuable,” he said.

Up next: A new Long Lots

Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice gave a presentation focused mainly on Long Lots Elementary School, which a consultant said earlier this year is “aging out.”

There seemed little doubt the school, now seven decades old, will need to be replaced rather than renovated, at an estimated cost ranging from $80 to $100 million.

In coming years, whether Coleytown Elementary also will have to be replaced rather than renovated is not yet known.

Scarice said one of the factors driving the likely decision to replace Long Lots is the presence of PCBs, asbestos and other hazardous materials in the existing structure.

And, he said, “renovating a building of this magnitude would like require a multi-year shutdown and the relocation of 560 to 570 students.”

That is not just a logistical problem, Scarice said, but is not good for students.

A new Long Lots could be built on the Hyde Lane property while the original school stays open, he said.

Overview needed for all major projects

Board of Finance member Lee Caney, who joined the meeting by phone, worried about the whole portfolio of buildings.

“I think it’s really negligent of the town to not have someone globally look at this,” he said. “One surprise here and we’re in some trouble.”

Finance Chairwoman Sheri Gordon mentioned that the board has asked First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker to consider creating such a position, and that it’s under consideration.

The subject has been prickly because, as school officials have pointed out, state law says boards of education solely oversee their facilities. The funding in Westport, however, has to wend its way through the Board of Finance and, ultimately, the Representative Town Meeting.

Don O’Day, an RTM member from District 3 and member of several legislative committees, including Finance, said the next step would be appointing a building committee to manage construction of a new Long Lots.

“The Board of Ed manages their buildings,” he said of the proposed town facilities director. “We don’t have a facilities director telling Tom [Scarice], or anybody on the Board of Ed, what they need to do with their buildings.”

“But we can have a facilities director for the town,” O’Day said. “That facilities director can peacefully co-exist with Colliers [a consultant the school board has used for building assessments], with Tom, with the Board of Ed and just all work together for the portfolio that Lee [Caney] is speaking about.”

Stern: Taxes could spike

Board of Finance member Brian Stern provided the group with a detailed look at the next decade or so for town finances. 

He said that with school projects and town projects, and rising interest rates and inflation, the town’s per-capita debt (overall debt divided by the number of residents) could more than triple from the present $3,870 to $12,840.

That could mean a 12 percent increase in local taxes.

He said Stratford currently has the highest per-capita debt in the state, $5,500.

Westport’s, he said, could potentially be 1.5 times that.

“These a very serious numbers,” Stern said. 

He said there have been times before when the town upped its debt load for major school projects, such as when the new Staples High and Bedford Middle schools were built, and that such projects were investments.

Stern said the conversation about the town’s financial future, and what everyone’s willing to fund, should go beyond the finance board. Various town entities need to be involved, he said. And, he said, selling some town assets might be an option. 

As the meeting was about to adjourn, Board of Education Chairwoman Lee Goldstein gave Stern a good-natured prod about Long Lots.

“I think it’s exciting,” she said. “It’s an exciting investment that’s long overdue.”