The Westport town government and schools provide a wide range of services to the people of Westport, many of which are hardly noticed. Over the past two decades, provision of these services has been under growing stress because of increasing needs, insufficient revenues and, recently, higher prices. The 24 departments providing these services have done their best to continue meeting the growing demands but are now finding that impossible and the town leaders have concluded that, without additional funding, further cuts in personnel and services will be inevitable.

Most Westport residents have little awareness of the services provided by the town and how the demands for those services have increased in recent years. For example:

• Between 2001 and 2021 calls for police services increased by 65 percent, while the number of officers declined from 34 to 31, or by 10 percent.

• Thirty years ago, the Westport Fire Department responded to 1,390 fire and EMS calls. In 2022 it responded to 3,150 calls, an increase of 127 percent, while the staff members increased from 20 to 21, an increase of five percent.

• Over the past two decades there has been an increase of 83 percent in the number of meetings held at the Westport Free Public Library, and book circulation has increased by 18 percent.

• This fiscal year the Westport Senior Center has provided 9,931 activities for 930 seniors, 3,088 services for 541 seniors and 2,058 rides for medical, personal and other needs.

• The number of students attending Westport Public Schools declined somewhat during the past decade but has recently been increasing, partly in response to the improved school facilities.

• The number of “special needs” students has recently increased significantly, requiring more staff and facilities to meet those needs.

• The ratio of town employees to town residents has declined by 30 percent in the past 20 years — the largest decline was in the highway department, whichwent from 17 to six employees.

A newly created website seeks to inform the voters of Westport about these and other indicators of current pressures on town services and personnel. The website works much better on a computer than on an Ipad or phone.

Please have a look.

David C. Cole

Westport