On July 22, Select Board Vice Chair Matt Taylor launched a verbal attack on Citizens for a Fiscally Responsible Belmont, (CFRB) and on Vice President Marie Warner. Warner’s reappointment to the Economic Development Committee was to be voted on by the Select Board. Taylor opposed this reappointment due to her affiliation with CFRB. Warner’s appointment was approved, with two Select Board members affirming and Taylor abstaining.
Among the accusations made against CFRB were that our organization advanced conspiracies, disparaged town employees, elected officials and volunteers, and engaged in bullying. None of these accusations are true.
CFRB is a 501c4 non-profit, grass-roots organization of concerned citizens working to increase accountability, responsibility and transparency in town government.
As stated on our website www.cfrbbelmont.org, a key facet of advancing the CFRB mission is to solicit and participate in collaboration with Belmont municipal and school officials. Since its founding in 2021, CFRB has engaged in dialogue with the representatives from the Collins Center, with leaders in the Library Building Committee, and with Select Board members and others.
Officers are elected Town Meeting members and are involved in Belmont committees as volunteers – the Economic Development Committee, the Warrant Committee and the Vision Implementation Committee. This involvement reflects our shared commitment to work for Belmont in collaboration with others – including those with whom we may disagree on issues.
One phrase used in the diatribe resonates with us — that CFRB “amplifies voices.” Those words were used by Taylor in a distorted, false accusation of malfeasance. But CFRB does in fact amplify the voices of many in Belmont who feel under-represented, marginalized and ignored. We are proud to amplify those voices and make them heard.
Dawn MacKerron, President, CFRB