Westport Personnel Board Backs Bylaw Overhaul, Votes 3-1 to Recommend Town Meeting Approval

WESTPORT — April 15, 2026 — Westport Personnel Board votes 3-1 to recommend a town meeting bylaw overhaul that would shift HR administration from the board to the town administrator. Meeting remotely on April 15, the four-member board also voted unanimously 4-0 to reclassify the director of senior services position from grade 11 to grade 10 on the town's compensation scale, setting a salary range of roughly $80,000 to $112,000 as the town prepares to post the job ahead of the current director's end-of-August retirement. Town Administrator Chris Vitale said the prior grade 11 rating had been calibrated to the retiring director's individual profile rather than the position's minimum requirements. On Article 25, the proposed bylaw amendment would retain the personnel board in an advisory capacity while formalizing Vitale's role as an intermediate step in non-union employee grievances and allowing the town to hire into funded positions before they are ratified at town meeting. Member Carrie Cunha cast the lone dissenting vote, warning that removing the board's independent oversight "opens the door" to pay inequity regardless of the current Select Board's intentions.