Two new FinCom members appointed; Arai, Zahorik join 9-member committee
By Bill Kirk, Andover Townsman, Mass. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Town Moderator
Doherty said she interviewed 12 people and narrowed the field down to the two candidates she thinks will bring the best balance to the committee.
"People on the
The
The votes it takes are advisory, but Town Meeting voters tend to go along with members' recommendations.
Arai said he was good friends with the late
Rigby was one of the founding members of townofandover.com, a watchdog website that keeps a close eye on town spending habits.
The remaining founder and website operator,
Arai said he has closely studied town finances and is concerned that
"
He said he hoped his concern about long-term liabilities doesn't get him into trouble.
"Sheila warned me about this," he said. "She said her No. 1 goal is to have a FinCom that can work together, and have diversity of opinions so things get discussed. We'll have to see how this works out. Maybe she'll regret this."
Zahorik, meanwhile, was appointed because she has experience in different facets of business and municipal finance, Doherty said.
"She has a generalist background," Doherty said. "She has experience in marketing and is a member of the
"The fact she has strong marketing background will help us continue to educate and get the word out to voters about what the recommendations are of the FinCom. We've done a lot to educate people on OPEB and the debt tool and strategic financial issues. Someone with a marketing background will help get the message out."
Zahorik, whose children are ages 13, 15 and 17, said she has 27 years of experience in financial services, including 15 years in information technology. She does direct-marketing analytics and has dealt with large and small budgets, so is very familiar with how budgets work, she added.
"What I find fascinating is that there are a lot of differences between private-sector and municipal budgets," she said. "How revenue is generated is obviously very different. But the things you spend money on are not that different. It's about people and investment -- technology, infrastructure and people."
Last year, when FinCom members complained about lack of access to school budget figures, Zahorik said she realized there may be a problem with the process and timing.
"Everyone involved in the process is trying to fulfill their roles," she said. "There are timing challenges about when information becomes available. That's one of the reasons I'm interested in serving -- I want to focus on improving the budget process on timing and collaboration. I hope to contribute to those process improvements."
As of last week, neither of the new members had been sworn in by Town Clerk
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