March 3 is Town Meeting. With that in mind, I asked the announced Selectboard candidates two questions on the listserv, one about the Finance Committee and the other about Town Manager goals. Here are the questions and their verbatim listserv responses.
QUESTION. In April 2025, the Selectboard amended the Finance Committee’s charge, removing its role to provide ‘independent advice’ to the Selectboard on the annual Town budget and eliminating the requirement to provide budget information to voters.
The revised charge authorizes the Finance Committee to research budget issues only ‘as requested’ by the Selectboard. This year the Selectboard made no such requests. (Links to the meeting minutes and my blog post with additional context are provided below.)
As of today, do you support the April 2025 Selectboard action? Why or why not? Will you actively work to place a discussion of the Finance Committee’s role on the Selectboard agenda by May 2026?
RESPONSES.
Brendan Classon, Unopposed Candidate for the 3-year Selectboard Seat
Did not respond.
Robert Gere, Write-in Candidate for the 2-year Selectboard Seat
Did not respond.
Pam Smith, Write-in Candidate for the 2-year Selectboard Seat
Thank you for focusing attention on this very important matter. You may recall that I was appointed to the Norwich Finance Committe (NFC) in June 2020. And, you may also recall that I was one of four NFC members who resigned in protest in January 2021. Below is an excerpt from the email that was sent from the NFC to the Selectboard on January 20, 2021:
…”On December 29, 2020, the NFC issued a set of preliminary recommendations regarding the 2021-2022 town budget currently under consideration. While we understand that the Selectboard is under no obligation to accept the recommendations of the NFC, it is our shared belief that the Selectboard does not take, nor seems to desire, input from the NFC. Despite our repeated efforts over the past few years, the Selectboard has not actively sought our recommendations regarding the operational budget or capital budget planning.
Every volunteer member of the NFC has expended a great deal of time and effort in fulfilling the NFC’s charge to the best of our abilities. Unfortunately, without any degree of real engagement from the Selectboard, our efforts are pointless.
It is our hope that, at some point in the near future, the town of Norwich will have a Selectboard that actively stands behind the charge it has approved for the NFC.”…
It was my hope when the NFC was reactivated and several highly-qualified applicants were appointed that this was a sign that we had finally reached the point of having “a Selectboard that actively stands behind the charge it has approved for the NFC”. Sadly, that was not the case. The Selectboard watered down the NFC’s charge. And they eliminated the only elected official on the NFC, the Town Treasurer, who was an ex-officio member. Eventually, the Treasurer’s membership was restored, but only because NFC members strongly urged the Selectboard to reconsider their decision.
(This brings up another topic that I would like the Selectboard to address on a future agenda….the disrespectful treatment some elected officials have been subjected to by other elected officials. But, that is a topic for another day.)
Instead of seeking the NFC’s input on the 2026-2027 budget, the Selectboard asked the NFC to compare the budgets of towns of similar size to the Norwich budget. In my opinion, this was a “make work” project to keep the committee busy and keep them from doing an analysis of the 2026-2027 budget. To their credit, the NFC completed the study assigned to them. Their 13-page report is in the February 25, 2026, Selectboard packet.
If I am elected to the 2-year Selectboard seat, I would definitely be in favor of working with my colleagues and the NFC to rewrite their charge to provide meaningful input. The collective talent on the NFC far outweighs the collective talent of the Selectboard when it comes to all things finance. Thus, the NFC should be a valued contributor to the review of each Town budget before it is approved by the Selectboard and sent to the voters. As I have stated many times, I believe the #1 responsibility of the Selectboard is to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars. Having input from the NFC can and should be an integral component of the Selectboard’s budget oversight. I will advocate having this as an agenda item early in the next term (hopefully May 2026 as you have suggested) so that all budget cycles going forward will include input from the NFC.
QUESTION: Under the Town Manager’s contract (excerpt below), the Selectboard and Town Manager must define “in writing…reasonably attainable” goals and objectives for the coming year. The Town Manager’s annual performance evaluation is tied to those goals.
Imagine you’re newly elected and the Board is brainstorming priorities for the Town Manager for the coming year. The facilitator asks you to propose three attainable goals and emphasizes: avoid vague platitudes and focus on things achievable within a year, within budget constraints.
What three goals would you propose, and why?
RESPONSES.
Brendan Classon, Unopposed Candidate for the 3-year Selectboard Seat
Thanks for your recent notes and for signaling your expectation that the Selectboard be held accountable to the townsfolk whom they represent. I wholeheartedly agree.
For my part, and running as an uncontested Selectboard candidate, I will soon be a freshly-minted, municipal representative after Town Elections on Mar 3rd. I will therefore have to come up to speed quickly via my own preparation and by tapping into the experience of fellow Selectboard members.
I attended legislative sessions at the State House in Montpellier today for a first-hand update on proposals for tax disbursement options to fund the education budget (House Committee on Ways & Means), and to learn more about Pre-K funding proposals (House Committee on Education). It was an informative and instructional visit. I had the opportunity to learn and to voice my opinions to our elected state representatives (Jim Masland and Rebecca Holcombe, and others). I quickly realized that there is no substitute for in-person attendance at state and municipal meetings. In a similar fashion, through personal experience I found the NWC-sponsored ‘Candidates’ Forum’ here in town an equally helpful forum in which the Selectboard candidates were held accountable (and on-the-spot) to answer questions from the townsfolk they will be tasked to represent. By contrast, I feel that so much important sentiment and vital messaging from townsfolk unfortunately risks being lost or misinterpreted on Listserve and social media posts.
I very much look forward to Selectboard meetings becoming a forum where citizens and residents are made to feel welcome, where they can actively solicit their opinions and where they can expect considered responses and effective decision-making.
I hope to see you there!
Robert Gere, Write-in Candidate for the 2-year Selectboard Seat
Here is my general feelings about the Town Manager position.
Let me be clear, these are not opinions about this specific Town Manager, but
rather the role.
The TM is hired to manage Town affairs. To supervise employees, make
contracts for services and supplies, oversee departmental performances. It
only takes one Accounts Payable list to see how complex running the Town can
be.
My personal thoughts about this year are:
Accomplishing the above listed tasks and proving they are being done
correctly is of necessity, job 1. From my previous experience on the board, I
would add that I will expect to see proof that we are doing all that is
appropriate to reach full staffing and are able to retain our increasingly
experienced existing workforce.
As I have also stated, what I expect to see happen is that Norwich accurately
tracks and reports its carbon footprint so as to be able to come up with
options on reducing it. I want to be kept informed on the state of capital
assets that are approaching end of life in order to make wise, long term,
decisions before we are forced into crisis management.
But underlying is the question whether the TM form of governance is
appropriate for Norwich. I feel that it is. I supported it from the beginning
and still support it now.
I was on the Selectboard when this TM was initially hired. I might add that
he was the most qualified candidate at the time and I was not aware that he
was recruited privately in some smokey back room.
I look forward to working with him again, but when his next performance
evaluation comes up, I will be objective as to whether he passes muster.
But this time around, I will speak out when any Town employee is subjected to
unwarranted criticism. And I will expect the Selectboard’s one hire to hold
themselves to professional standards.
Pam Smith, Write-in Candidate for the 2-year Selectboard Seat
As you have pointed out, the Selectboard didn’t set goals for the Town
Manager or themselves in September 2025.
CORRECTION: “Failing to set goals at the same time
the Selectboard approved a 3-year extension to the Town Manager’s
contract was a lost opportunity.”
Knowing that goals were not set in
September 2025, I think it would be a mistake to wait until September
2026 to set new goals. The result of waiting would mean that the
Selectboard would have a limited basis for the Town Manager’s annual
performance review in September 2026. Therefore, I believe the
Selectboard should set goals for the next 18 months no later than April.
The goals set in April 2026 would be the basis of the Town Manager’s
annual performance review in September 2026 and again in September 2027.
While there are many things that need to be accomplished over the next 18
months, to respond to your specific question, my top 3 goals for the Town
Manager would be:
Communication:
Under this heading, I would include the following:
(1) update the Town’s website and bring all departments under one
umbrella;
(2) update the audio-visual equipment in Tracy Hall to improve the
quality of municipal meeting recordings; and,
(3) Town Manager reports should focus only on those items/projects
the Town Manager’s office has worked on during the previous month.
Rather than having the Town Manager’s report include other
departments, I believe every department head should submit a monthly
report for inclusion in the Selectboard packet.
Tracy Hall improvements:
Norwich is very fortunate to have a retired architect on the
Selectboard. I believe a Tracy Hall working group should be
established to include that Selectboard member and other residents
who would work with the Town Manager to:
(1) develop a clear plan of the improvements needed at Tracy Hall;
(2) develop a timeline for each phase of the project; and,
(3) develop an estimate of cost for each phase of the project.
Speeding, Sidewalks, Biking and Walkability:
My third goal relates to speeding and pedestrian safety. I believe
the Town Manager, working with the DPW Director and the Police Chief,
should study the various traffic calming strategies to develop a
report for the Selectboard. This report should present the various
options, their efficacy and their associated costs. I would recommend
that this report be shared during a Special Selectboard meeting where
this would be the only item on the agenda in order to give residents
ample time to ask questions and share their thoughts. Speeding can
endanger those who walk and bike our roads, therefore, pedestrian
safety needs to be a part of this goal. Sidewalks in Town total over
15,000 linear feet with about 2/3 owned by the Town and 1/3 owned by
the Fire District. The Selectboard needs to revisit the discussion of
2017 regarding the Town acquiring the Fire District sidewalks. I
believe the last time sidewalks were assessed for condition and the
cost to bring them up to good-excellent condition happened in 2012.
We need an updated study of all sidewalks to assess their condition
and the cost to bring all sidewalks up to good-excellent condition.
It is important to maintain what we have.
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Thanks for reading! Contact me at norwichobserver[at]gmail.com