Council allocates $100,000 for Tower Street courts, adjusts hotel and meal tax projections

At a budget workshop continuation on April 20, the Westerly Town Council moved to allocate $100,000 in capital funding for resurfacing, epoxy coating and fencing upgrades to the Tower Street courts and approved modest revenue adjustments to hotel and meal tax lines.

Finance staff described updated state and local revenue projections: an updated in-lieu-of-taxes figure reduced revenue by about $31,000 from prior estimates, while year-to-date hotel and meal tax collections exceeded prior projections. Staff and councilors discussed options to preserve the target mill rate (7.10–7.11) and whether to raise collection-rate assumptions or reallocate revenue sources. Council approved a motion to place $100,000 in capital for Tower Street courts (motion and second recorded) and then voted to increase hotel/meals revenue lines by $40,000 to reflect stronger receipts.

Councilors agreed to handle the Tower Street funding as a one-time capital line item; staff will set up a capital account and return details for contract procurement and scheduling. The council discussed matching funds and the expectation that resurfacing and striping would make the courts more usable for residents year-round.