The Board of Selectmen Chair is interviewed by League member Judie Muggia

 

JM.  What convinced you to run for the Board of Selectmen in the first place?

 

 RB.  Having served for many years as a Town Meeting member, including seven years on the Finance Committee, the last two as Chairman, I decided to see if I could bring my understanding of the budget process and our town-wide needs to a different forum where I could try to more directly effect change.

 

JM.  What particular expertise did you feel you brought to the board?

 

RB.  My educational and work background in private sector business, together with my experience in numerous Winchester budget cycles, provided some insight into how we might do things differently, in a more timely manner, and with more expertise than had been the case in the recent past.

 

JM.  What are some of the toughest problems your board has faced?

 

RB.  The most difficult problem(s) we have faced are the ones we are now facing today.  Nothing compares.  The global economic meltdown of the recent months dwarfs the challenges we faced in recent years.  We expect the Commonwealth will have to, by the end of 2008, cut local aid to cities and towns as the State budget deficit grows to $3+ billion.  This impending cut to a 10% portion of our $80+ million budget together with a dramatic, historic decrease in local revenue collections, including auto excise taxes and building permit receipts, threatens to result in a current fiscal year deficit.  How we manage these economic threats, present and future, will determine many aspects of Winchester’s future quality of life and the services citizens have come to assume and rely upon.

 

JM.  What goals have been set during your tenure and how many have been reached or are in process?

 

RB.  My overarching goal when I arrived on the Board almost three years ago was to try to “leave things better than I found them”.   Together with a remarkable Board of Selectmen, one that has worked as collegially, respectfully and transparently as any I have witnessed in the last 20 years, a number of achievements and improvements have been realized. 

 

    -The threat posed by the proposed Avalon Bay purchase and sale agreement at Hamilton Farm, and the subsequent public process of analysis, discussion and an eventual, successful override to purchase and develop a portion of the property, add to conservation land, and to permanently protect historic farm structures was a notable achievement.

 

   - A new Comptroller and Treasurer have been hired and together bring strong educational and professional experience and “best practices” to their respective offices. 

 

   - An Audit Committee was established and has actively become involved in providing pro bono guidance to the Town.  Remarkably, for the first time, financial Policies and Procedures have been developed for this $80 million enterprise.

 

   - The annual Town Audit was begun in September 2008.  In past years audits have been delayed for multiple years.

 

   -  MUNIS accounting system, purchased at a cost in excess of $1 million a number of years ago, has been fully implemented.  Monthly and quarterly reporting has been initiated to assist in budget management..

 

   - After three successive years of deficit spending by the School Department, all personnel costs are now encumbered at the outset of each fiscal year and regular reports from the school system have assisted in tracking its financial management through the year, not just at year end.

 

   -Excess funds from completed capital projects have been identified and returned to accounts for use on other projects.

 

   - Management Letter criticisms from our outside Auditors have been reviewed and resolved rather than allowed to be repeated in successive years.

 

   - Fees for every municipal service have been reviewed and revised to more fully reflect Town costs and comparative charges in similar Massachusetts communities.

 

    - Water and Sewer fees have been adjusted on a more regular basis to avoid the occurrence of deficits in this account.

 

   - Delinquent property tax collections have been aggressively pursued.

 

   - Budget, Capital, and Financial Management issues have become a regular, major focus of a succession of Boards of Selectmen under different Chairmanships.  This focus has reinforced the importance of these matters to the operational managers of the Town.

 

JM.  What have been your most rewarding experiences on the board? 

 

RB.  Serving and interacting with an extremely well meaning, well educated, dedicated cadre of citizen volunteers, across many boards and interest areas, makes even the most vexing issues interesting and enjoyable to work on.  From Hamilton Farm to Bicycle Path planning, from development projects by Winchester Hospital and at the old Pansy patch to flooding issues and improvements, from school enrollment and expansion needs to fields upkeep and reconstruction, financial matters and deficits when they have occurred, have all been easier to deal with when those involved have uniformly been willing to disagree without being disagreeable.  The strength of Winchester remains its people.  I have greatly benefited from the chance to interact with persons with varying expertise and work experiences.  Without these citizens’ efforts, the excellent, but numerically limited, Town professional staff could not begin to adequately address the many challenges they face on a daily basis. 

 

JM.  What are the most pressing problems facing the BOS as we go forward?

 

RB.  Continuing to attract and retain the high quality of professional staffing throughout Town Hall and the School department, at a time when we will be financially constrained more than ever before, will be a challenge.  Winchester will be an $85 million “business” next year and requires steady, intelligent, enlightened professional management.  How we execute on such management of our physical plant, human resources, and finances will determine how Winchester manages to maintain itself as the safe and desirable community it is today.