It’s been a while! TLDR: they passed the town budget and level-funded the school budget. It’s almost like all the yapping about the surplus was pure posturing. 🤔
In the News
Spring Fest is this weekend!
Senator Gu introduced two bills to cap utilities’ profits
The Chamber of Commerce purchased a building on Main Street
A quarry blast hurled rocks through the roofs of nearby homes
After its January fire, The Cooked Goose won’t be repaired in time for the summer season
The developers for a housing project off of Wells Street will receive a $6 million tax credit from the state
The Spring Avenue right-of-way might get a public hearing this summer
And, if you’re nosy like me, there’s always plenty of drama happening in the letters to the editor. I will have one in there on Sunday. 👀
Town Council
May 5 (agenda)
This is the budget for next year’s water and sewage treatment as well as the transfer station.
If I understood the town manager correctly (and please take this with a grain of salt), the $50 cost for a transfer station sticker will be going away, and the expense will be spread evenly across our taxes instead, resulting in only a small increase. This seems great!
Sewer taxes will be going up for the next few years to accommodate the improvements being made across town.
YEARLY REEMERGENCE OF LOCAL HOMOPHOBES
Two folks got up to speak against the town proclamation declaring June as Pride Month. One objected on the basis that veterans only get one day honoring them (this is what my upcoming letter to the editor is about), and the other on the basis that Westerly is majority Catholic (maybe? probably?) and the minority shouldn’t be forcing its “genderism” on the majority. Councilor Niemeyer rightly pushed back against the rhetoric of the latter, expressing discomfort with the alleged majority seeking to suppress acknowledgement of a minority group.
Are these people okay? Don’t they have more important things to worry about than Pride month?
I’ve also updated the town council voting record up to March.
School Committee
May 7 (agenda)
Mainly, this was a really long executive session about WTA negotiations and “potential litigation,” for which they sealed the minutes. This is typical, but…
WHAT POTENTIAL LITIGATION
And some good news: WHS outperformed the state average on the SATs! Maybe we aren’t failing our kids as miserably as the more conservative town council and school committee members seem to think we are?
I’ve also updated the school committee voting record up to March - now that they’ve actually had a non-unanimous vote. 🙄
Other Boards and Committees
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