The Finance Committee has a fresh look this year with one new member, one member returning after a short hiatus, and a member promoted from associate to voting status. Town Moderator Bill Barton says the three come prepared with backgrounds in business and finance, ideas for tax base expansion, and a knowledge and commitment to the community.
The committee consists of seven voting members who are appointed to staggered three-year terms and two nonvoting associate members who serve one-year terms.
The associate position is basically a training opportunity, explained Barton. He said associates have the same responsibilities and level of participation in the decision-making process as voting members but cannot vote at a committee meeting.
There are no limits to how many times a member can be reappointed to a position on the Finance Committee, but Barton said it is typical for associate members to fill the seats of voting members when they come open.
Mike Derse is the only one of the three newest appointees with no previous experience on the committee. Along with Charles Oliver, he was appointed this year as an associate member. “Mike is a very thoughtful, intelligent individual,” said Barton, who interviews and appoints candidates to the committee. He added that Derse’s knowledge of the community stretches back many years, both from his own experience and that of his wife, who was raised and educated in Harvard.
Professionally, Derse is a director of business development at Learning Express Toys Inc. and a current member of the Harvard Youth Baseball and Softball Club. In 2004 he earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford and received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 2010. On his application for the committee, he reported expertise in financial modeling, reporting, and analysis.
Eric Ward, a director of quality control chemistry at Boston Analytical, is the newest voting member and committee secretary. He joined as an associate partway through 2019 and was promoted this spring when Siko Sikochi stepped down from his position.
Ward earned his MBA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2009. He described himself on his application as “a bit of a spreadsheet junkie” and professed an affinity for “piles of data.”
Charles Oliver is a previous member of the committee, having served between July 2016 and 2019. His seat was left open when he chose not to reapply going into fiscal 2019. While he does not have a background in finance or budgeting, as many of the other members do, Chair Don Ludwig explained that Oliver sometimes sees problems from a different perspective, giving balance to the committee’s decision-making process.
Oliver is also a salesman for Ideal Wine and Spirits and graduated from Georgetown University with a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1998.
The Finance Committee is responsible for reviewing and recommending changes to the operating budgets of each town agency prior to each year’s Spring Town Meeting. Other recent projects include the establishment of a townwide debt ceiling policy, working with the Select Board to establish budget guidelines, and monitoring state budget decisions.
Additional members of the committee are Richard Fellows, who was reappointed to his position this spring, Vice Chair Jennifer Finch and John Seeley, whose terms end in May 2021, and Raymond Marchica and Mark Buell, whose terms expire in May of 2022.
Barton said that Oliver and Derse were the only two applicants for this year’s open positions. Given this, he is encouraging people to volunteer for committee seats in the future, stating, “We all need to help the town succeed.”
