Westport Finance Committee Approves Seven Year-End Transfers Totaling Over $148,000

WESTPORT — June 23, 2026 — Westport Finance Committee unanimously approves seven year-end budget transfers totaling more than $148,000, closing out fiscal year 2026 before the June 30 deadline. Chair Karen Rouse led the committee through transfers ranging from a $20,000 veterans benefits line for thermoplastic grave markers to a $50,000 fire department transfer necessitated by two on-duty injuries, the blizzard of 2026, and the multi-day Mid-City Scrap fire. The police department secured a $40,000 transfer to purchase a Virtra 180-degree virtual training simulator, with State Senator Mike Rodericks securing an earmark covering 70 percent of the total cost. A combined $66,160.45 in legal-line transfers drew the evening's only dissenting vote, from member Al Lees, who cited concern about the volume of municipal litigation. Member Nancy Stanton Cross raised an unresolved ambulance billing gap, noting roughly $500,000 in uncollected EMS bills over the past decade; Fire Chief Greg Baldwin confirmed he has already drafted an RFP for a billing collection firm and plans to meet with Town Administrator Chris Vitale on the matter. The meeting was the last for member Hugh Morton, who concluded 18 years of service on the committee.