As department heads in the Town of Westport begin this month to work on their budget recommendations for a new fiscal year, they will be expected to operate within a now familiar set of constraints that are unavoidable in view of the town’s continued bleak economic outlook for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

“I’ve asked them for a budget that will include contracted raises which are roughly two percent for most if not all departments, and right now I have [an expectation of] level services for their expense accounts,” Town Administrator Jim Hartnett told the Select Board.

The message was part of a budget presentation Hartnett made to the board last week, during which he highlighted numbers for both the current and upcoming fiscal years. He began the discussion by describing the challenges facing the town currently, particularly in terms of the impact of budgetary policies on its citizens.

“We just don’t have the staff or the resources to provide the services we’d like to provide…And it’s tough telling people when they have a simple request that we can’t do it, or we can’t do it in a reasonable amount of time. Until we get more funding, I don’t see there is an alternative.”

Select board chairwoman Shana Shufelt, acknowledging the impact on residents who may not understand the underlying causes for delays in service, noted that recently a complaint about a pothole appeared on social media.

“We have so many road miles in town. No one should assume we are just ignoring a giant pothole.”

Hartnett said the police contract, which dates back to July 1, 2021, has not yet been settled, and once a resolution with the union is reached, the town will owe retroactive pay for up to a year and a half. That number will impact the current year’s budget and was not included in original projections, he said.

Health insurance premiums continue to climb, although not as dramatically in the past few years as compared to 10 or 15 years ago. Higher property liability insurance was due in part to the opening of the new middle/high school.

“It will be a difficult year,” said Hartnett, referring to the coming fiscal year. He added that the school department is also limiting salary increases to two percent. In the current year, the schools took advantage of ESSER federal funds to pay for certain positions.

“We will have to compensate for those funds in the next budget.”

Staffing and salaries

Selectman Richard Brewer referenced the inflation rate and salaries, asking, “How long can we hold on to the two percent?”

Hartnett responded that salaries are currently locked into most contracts for another year and a half, and after that, “it’s going to be difficult.”

“Just like everywhere else, it’s difficult to fill positions for the money we are paying. And two percent is not very attractive to people as inflation goes up.”

Hartnett added that to get to the balanced budget for the current fiscal year, the town made drastic cuts in almost every department, including the school department, and the town is already operating at a deficit in terms of resources and providing adequate services.

In response, Selectman Brian Valcourt said the town will continue to operate at a deficit unless an adjustment is made to the tax rate. Every year, he said, the push has been to make more cuts.

“Eventually there is nothing left to cut. We are the 22nd lowest tax rate in the state of Massachusetts.”

Valcourt said an override of three to five million dollars is needed to address the structural deficits in the town’s operating budgets.

“Operating costs are staggering. Everything is going up.”

Shufelt said budget conversations will continue for multiple weeks at every upcoming board meeting. Additionally, she said she is open to getting input from a private citizens' group in town that is researching the prospect of an override.

Added Brewer, “I was very much impressed with the work they [the citizen’s group] is doing and am looking forward to their report.”