Since moving to Goffstown seven years ago, I’ve become quite active in town and community affairs. I joined the Historic District Commission in 2005 and became chair in 2007, I wrote a book about the history of Goffstown in 2009, I’m co-chairing the town’s 250th anniversary committee, and I am a member of several other community organizations including serving on the boards of the Goffstown Historical Society and Tri-Town Travel Soccer. 

I’m running for the Budget Committee because I think the budget process has to involve more factual data, more cooperation with town and school officials, and more discussion and debate about both the tax rate and the services we receive from the town and schools. Frankly, I have been disappointed by the current Budget Committee in all three of these areas. 

The Budget Committee needs to get back to its more traditional and accepted role in town government, where it acts as a check on town and school spending, not a trump card. Its members need to work with town and school officials, not against them. And their decisions have to be based on actual hard data. Anything less will result in bad decisions that will ultimately end up costing the taxpayers more to fix a decaying infrastructure and reverse falling property values. 

Taking a broader view, I think Goffstown residents as a whole need to have a serious discussion about what services they want and how much those services cost. And I think all of us have to decide just what kind of a community this is going to be—if we’re going to remain a primarily residential community, or if we’re going to develop into a more commercial or industrial community. But before we make that decision, though, we need to have a clear, accurate picture of what those choices actually mean. 

Although the leadership for such a discussion must come from the Board of Selectmen, I think an honest, respectful Budget Committee can play an important role. I also think I can contribute in a constructive and informed manner to that discussion and to producing a responsible budget, and that’s why I’m running for the Budget Committee.