I am strongly endorsing Michael Widmer for Moderator. I have known Mike for over 30 years and have collaborated with him throughout my 12-year tenure as a Select Board member and also as a former member of the Warrant Committee. Mike has demonstrated expertise and grace in steering Town Meeting through numerous difficult issues. He spends countless hours planning each Town Meeting and has earned the respect of the members.
One of the major aspects of being Moderator includes making committee appointments, Warrant Committee included. Mike has always worked in a fair, knowledgeable manner when making these appointments. He vets each candidate to make sure they have the expertise needed to be an effective committee member; the current members represent a cross-section of Belmont’s population. When Mike makes these appointments, he listens to all viewpoints and makes decisions based on Belmont’s needs.
The Warrant Committee prepares the budget, considers all warrant articles involving the appropriation of money, and makes recommendations to Town Meeting on whether to accept them. Its job does not include promoting sensible economic development. That comes within the purview of Belmont’s Select Board and Administration.
Let us be clear about Belmont’s current financial condition and its cause. We are faced with a fiscal crisis because revenues have not kept pace with the expenses that we incur to deliver the level of town and school services residents expect. Our fiscal problems have nothing to do with Mike’s appointments to the Warrant Committee.
In the years Mike has been Moderator, he has made it his business not just to lead Town Meeting and advise town government but to consider the interests of the entire community.
Please vote for Michael Widmer for Moderator on April 2 or by mail.
Mark Paolillo, Pilgrim Road