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Westerly manager presents water, sewer and transfer station budgets; no water rate increase, sewer borrowing moves forward
Summary
At a May 18 workshop, the town manager presented FY2026‑27 enterprise budgets: no proposed change to water rates (water fund balance ~ $5.063M), a sewer plan tied to infrastructure borrowing (certificate of approval from DEM received; plans for initial $45M loan within an $85M program) and transfer station improvements (roof/skin budgeted). The council ordered the budget ordinances advertised for public hearing.
The Westerly Town Manager reviewed the town’s proposed FY2026‑27 enterprise budgets during a workshop session recessed into the May 18 council meeting, telling councilors that water rates would not change this year while sewer financing and capital work are moving into the construction and bonding stage.
On the water budget the manager reported roughly $7.963 million in revenues and a fund balance of about $5.063 million; he said the town proposes no rate change for water this year and listed ongoing capital items such as tank rehabilitation, chemical feed equipment and lead service mitigation funding.
On the sewer side he told council the treatment plant budget is roughly $6.6 million and that the town had just received the Department of Environmental Management certificate of approval to proceed with construction: "We finally got the certificate approved from DEM this morning to move forward," he said. The manager summarized rate and fee changes tied to the sewer project: a non‑sewer user surcharge, an adjusted ad valorem element and an infrastructure fee for sewer users to support debt service on what the manager described as an $85 million program, with an initial $45 million tranche planned for this year.
The manager said debt service for the project would appear in the operating budget (first‑year debt service shown at about $818,000); he also noted the sewer enterprise had a fund balance of about $3.527 million after design expenditures and that borrowing would increase debt service as the construction schedule proceeded.
On the transfer station the manager said no rate changes were proposed and the fund balance (~$3.938 million) is healthy; planned capital this year includes a roof and building skin replacement scheduled for September.
On municipal taxes the manager said that, taken together, the proposed budgets would result in a one‑cent decrease in the mill rate: "the taxes went down by one penny," he said. Councilors asked clarifying questions about project phasing, specific capital items and the sources of anticipated grant or loan support for PFAS mitigation and lead service replacement. The council voted to order the water, sewer and transfer station budget ordinances advertised for public hearing and later adoption.
