Westerly switches transfer-station funding from $50 flat fee to assessed‑value charge in adopted enterprise budgets

The Westerly Town Council on May 15 adopted enterprise budgets that include a change to how the transfer station is funded: staff proposed and the council accepted replacing the existing $50 flat annual permit fee with a charge equal to approximately 6¢ per $1,000 of assessed property value (an assessed-value charge intended to generate roughly $700,000).

Why it matters: The change shifts the cost from a flat, regressive fee to a value‑based charge tied to property assessment. Councilors framed the move as more progressive and discussed operational impacts at the transfer station, including capital needs, staffing and options to reduce long‑term operating costs.

Town Manager Sean (staff) explained the mechanics to the council: under the proposal the fee would be calculated on assessed value so, for example, a $100,000 property would pay about $6 and a $1,000,000 property about $60. Sean said the assessed‑value charge is intended to replace the flat $50 permit fee and to generate roughly $700,000 to balance the transfer station enterprise budget.

Council debate and operational points: - Equity and regressivity: Councilor Pietra praised the assessed‑value approach as fairer to lower‑valued properties and said it reduces the regressive effect of a flat fee. Another councilor cautioned that some older residents live in higher‑assessed homes while on fixed incomes and urged careful consideration of impacts on long‑time residents. - Trash bags and operations: Councilors raised recurring complaints about bag quality. Sean explained suppliers rate the bags by expected weight and that thicker bags would raise per‑bag cost; the town retains its current bag specification intentionally to match disposal pricing. - Transfer station capital and operations: Staff listed planned capital work including re‑skinning the transfer station building (metal roof), adding a water line and potential scale improvements; Sean said an engineer is preparing final costs. Staff reported the transfer station operates six days a week with town crews staffing Mondays (Town highway staff) and that the town is studying traffic flow and scale options to improve throughput. - Alternatives discussed: Councilors explored options including raising per‑dump fees, better truck packing, seeking grants, municipal curbside pickup and efficiency studies; staff cautioned each option carries tradeoffs (higher per‑use fees risk losing commercial haulers; municipal pickup would require a larger operational change and investment).

Direct quotes are drawn only from meeting participants recorded in the transcript. The council adopted the enterprise budgets (which include the transfer funding change) by voice vote; staff said the exact ordinance text for the assessed‑value charge will be advertised and returned for final action at a subsequent meeting.

Next steps: Staff will advertise the proposed ordinance language for the transfer‑station assessed‑value fee and return to council with final ordinance language, cost estimates for building/scale work, and any grant opportunities identified. Council discussion noted the town will monitor collection results compared with prior flat‑fee collections and may revisit the approach in future budget cycles.