Westport Finance Committee reviews $2.46M Diamond assessment and beach budget shortfall

Finance Committee · Meeting of February 24, 2026

Westport Finance Committee fields Diamond assessment, beach budget gap, and old high school stalemate. The committee received a fiscal year 2027 Diamond vocational assessment of $2,459,514 — up $170,784 from the prior year — driven by three additional Westport students and state wealth-formula factors outside the town's control, with Diamond Superintendent Director Brian Bentley reporting enrollment climbing to 1,508 and 877 applications for roughly 385 incoming ninth-grade spots. Beach Department Director Sean Leach presented an enterprise fund with roughly $191,000 in projected costs against $167,000 in recent revenue, prompting discussion of raising parking fines from $50 to $200 and exploring a disability shuttle service.

Town Administrator Christopher told the committee that one new full-time police officer and a personnel reserve line are the two headline additions to the fiscal year 2027 draft budget, with the Select Board rescheduled to approve the warrant Thursday after a blizzard closed town hall. Finance Committee member Christopher Thrasher was blunt about the old high school study committee: "That committee ground to a halt," he said, recommending it be dissolved and the matter returned to the Select Board — a building that costs the town at least $150,000 annually in maintenance with no redevelopment plan in place.

In the full story:

• The complete report — 1,068 words

Source: the Finance Committee meeting of February 24, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.