In the News
Local supporters get behind 'Ice Out' protests (shout out to Bank Square Books!)
Town Council (February 2)
being a Hater™
In my opinion, Councilor LaPietra ran for town council solely to lower his own taxes and decrease his personal annoyances. Here are his crusades: not paying more in taxes, even for mandatory infrastructure improvements; not having to look at festive decorations around town after January; not having people knock on his door while he’s trying to watch TV. Why is the typical conservative playbook so deeply divorced dad-coded?
No less shameful is Councilors Aiello and Duhamel, the former and the current council president, procedurally shrieking at each other. They had to take a five-minute timeout because they got so riled up! The grandpas are fighting. 😭
actual government stuff
Filling committee vacancies: few applicants applying for many positions. Some disagreement on how many board/committee positions volunteers can hold at once.
Approved logo for the Multicultural Committee
Westerly, Richmond scrutinize door-to-door sales rules (ordinance passed)
Passed corrected ordinance about sewer discharge limits
Advanced for public hearing ordinances about business registration requirements and police department qualifications for employment
Sewer rate, fee hikes coming for upgrades. TLDR: the tax increase is required to secure financing, the project is mandated by the state, and it’s been postponed for years. The town manager said that we have the lowest sewer (or water?) taxes in the state. More discussion on this next week.
Arguing about involving the EDC or Board of Recreation in the Atlantic Ave town property
Voted against requiring boards, committees, and commissions to record their meetings (Councilor Van Dover appears to be under the impression that a recording might have spared her from public scrutiny after she called someone a slur during an interview)
School Committee (January 21 and February 4)
drama
Lori Crycall is still trying to find any on-ramp to legislating children’s genitals, this time through auditing all school district policies for legal compliance. The rest of the committee seems aware of her underlying motivation and were quick to defer to the recently-created policies subcommittee for actually-needed changes.
actual government stuff
Budget workshops on January 20 and 27
Approved procurement code of conduct, non-union benefits, and graduation requirements
Presentations on the middle school schedule, anti-bullying successes, and mental health trends and services for students
Voted to terminate the contract of a Babcock preschool teacher, who spoke at the podium in her own defense
Goals of the committee members for the year
Boards and Committees
Many postponements from two weeks of snow, ice, and cold.
Westerly 250th Commission for the Semi Quincentennial (January 22 and February 2)
Board of Canvassers (February 3)
If you found this information helpful, please consider sending me a tip on ko-fi or sharing this newsletter with a friend. It helps a lot!
