WINDSOR — Residents will have four new choices to fill two open spots on the Select Board in town elections Tuesday, to be followed the next day by the annual Town Meeting.
Theresa Haskell, town manager, said board members Rick Gray and Ronnie Brann decided not to run for reelection this year, after many years of service by both. Gray was on the board for 15 years, and Brann for 18. That leaves those two spots to be filled by two of four newcomers to the position, Chester Barnes Jr., Tom McNaughton, Ed Pollard II and Kyoko Roderick.
McNaughton, 70, is retired and previously served on the school board for four years, as well as six years on the budget committee. He currently is chairman of the board of directors and voluntarily oversees the Windsor Food Bank.
Tom McNaughton Contributed photo
He said with the school budget increasing, making up some 78% of the total annual budget, he’d work to try to find other sources of revenue for the town to reduce the tax impact. He said his background in business and accounting would help him achieve that, and he would bring both expertise and a fresh perspective to the board.
“I’ve got some fresh ideas and am somebody who is willing to work hard for the town,” McNaughton said. “I’m experienced in working as part of a team. I think we can get a lot done that way.”
Pollard, 46, owns an antique car restoration shop in town, and is currently serving a one-year term on the school board.
He said he’s running because both he and his wife have businesses in town and he wants to be more a part of the town.
Ed Pollard Contributed photo
“We like the town, the way it is, so while towns need to have progress after a while, I want to keep that small town feel, where everybody knows everybody,” Pollard said. “We’ve had a lot of people move in from out of state the last few years. That’s not a bad thing, but we like our small towns, so that’s become important.”
In addition to running for the Select Board, Pollard is the only candidate on the ballot seeking a three-year term on the Regional School Unit 12 School Committee. Pollard said if he’s elected both to the board and school committee, he would have to choose between the two, and said he’d likely choose the school committee seat.
Kyoko Roderick Contributed photo
Roderick, who declined to provide her age, previously worked for 4 1/2 years as deputy clerk and bookkeeper at the Windsor Town Office and now works as a deputy clerk for the town of China.
She said her work in municipal government has given her knowledge and experience that would help her and be a benefit to residents, and working in two different towns has given her the opportunity to see how clerk duties vary between towns. She said she could bring new ideas to the table to improve internal processes in Windsor, and a favorite motto of hers is: “Work smarter, not harder.”
“There are many important issues that the town faces daily, and I am hoping to be able to be a part of any decision-making process,” Roderick said. “One main goal of mine is to get more residents involved with the town and let them know that all residents have a voice that should be heard. I will work to the best of my ability to represent the town of Windsor and its residents.”
Chester Barnes Jr. could not be reached for comment. In a write-up he provided that was included in the annual town report, Barnes said he is “the third generation of a strong conservative family based right here in Windsor,” adding, “Since I was a child, I thought that life truly couldn’t get better than the slow rural lifestyle we enjoy here; that lifestyle is the reason I am running. I want to preserve our way of life and won’t stand by while outside sources try to influence our town.”
He wrote that he previously served as a U.S. Marine. He said that as a selectman he would work to secure quality of life for residents, maintain the town’s public works department, roadways and emergency services and preserve the quality of education.
The four-way race for two spots on the Select Board is the only contested race on the ballot in the Tuesday secret ballot election.
Once voters pick officials at the polls Tuesday, they will reconvene Wednesday night for the open annual Town Meeting, voting on a slate of items primarily made up of funding for the coming year’s town budget.
Haskell, the town manager, said spending in the proposed town budget is up a bit, about $97,000, but is offset by increased revenues of $98,000. Most of the increased revenues comes from an increased use of fund balance, funds unspent in previous years and used to offset the impact on taxes. Haskell said the town’s share of the budget should not result in a property tax increase. Haskell said there is about $1.3 million in the town’s fund balance, which is well within auditors’ recommendations for funds to have on hand in case of emergencies.
“Luckily we have enough, we’ve been doing very well on fund balance,” Haskell said.
The proposed $2.09 million town budget is up 4.9% from the current year’s budget.
One new expense in the budget is a per capita fee, of about $40,000, to use Delta Ambulance to transport people injured in Windsor. Haskell said previously Delta did not charge the town a per capita fee and recouped money by billing for transport calls but is now assessing towns which use its services a fee to help cover its costs.
Haskell said spending is up in the public works budget, by about $78,000, in part to add an additional, third full-time position.
Secret ballot voting to elect town and school officials is Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the gymnasium at Windsor School, to be followed, Wednesday starting at 6:30 p.m., by the traditional annual Town Meeting, also in the school gym.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
