West Haven budgets $112,500 to repay Hunter Drive road work in Walmart's first months

West Haven's fiscal 2027 budget sets aside $112,500 to begin repaying developers for road work around a Walmart Supercenter still under construction, out of the sales tax the city expects the store to generate in its first months. ^[1]

The figures are forecasts. The budget memo says "the City estimates that Walmart will be open for 3 months in FY 2027." ^[1]

What the budget assumes

The final budget message says Walmart has begun construction and is expected to open in the last quarter of fiscal 2027, which ends June 30, 2027. It describes a 170,000-square-foot Walmart Supercenter and Fuel Center and says Walmart estimates the exterior of the building will be finished by the end of calendar 2026. ^[1]

"All of this equates to $225,000 in additional sales tax attributed to Walmart in FY 2027," the memo says, "with the City retaining $112,500 and budgeting $112,500 in 10-6910 Reimbursement for Hunter Drive." ^[1]

The memo says sales tax is used in part "to reimburse the developers for the realign Hunter Drive (an existing public road) to accommodate a larger Walmart Store." ^[1]

Delays

During the June 17 hearing on the energy tax, Mayor Rob Vanderwood said Walmart had had a lot of delays in construction and that the city therefore does not receive sales tax funds from it, according to the minutes. ^[2]

A resident at the same hearing said the new Walmart would bring in sales tax revenue, the minutes say. ^[2]

What the records reviewed do not show

The Ledger has not obtained the signed agreement governing the reimbursement. The records reviewed for this story do not state its maximum amount, its share of sales tax, its length or when the first payment comes due, and this story does not report those terms.