Weston Finance Candidates Speak Out

Weston Board of Finance candidates Michael Carter, Steve Ezzes, David Finkel, Jerry Sargent and Larry Skor appeared before members of the Hurlbutt Elementary and Weston Intermediate School parent teacher organizations to explain their views and answer questions on the state of Weston’s fiscal affairs.

Held at the Intermediate School’s cafetorium on Thursday morning, each candidate had five minutes to explain without interruption their backgrounds and expertise. In all, 13 candidates running for the finance board as well as the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Education appeared at the meeting.

Three incumbents are running for reelection. Steve Ezzes (D), who was appointed to the board mid-term, Michael Carter (R) and Jerry Sargent (R) have each served the public in various capacities for several years.

“We have brought in very, very modest budget increases but have maintained quality education, safety, and public services,” Ezzes said. “We need to continue to do that, but in a financially responsible way.”

Carter agreed.

“The Board of Finance is an extraordinarily apolitical organization and we’ve done a [great] job preparing our town” for 2011’s difficult economic circumstances, he said.

“We built up the general fund, and with a healthy fund, we can continue to provide the same services without a lot of cutbacks,” Carter added.

Larry Skor, one of five candidates running for four open positions, noted his Bachelor’s and Masters degrees in accounting as well as his years of experience working for accounting firm Deloitte and Touche as well as General Electric.

“I have to manage my budget in an environment where we’re spending thoughtfully,” Skor said. “The board needs to look at things thoughtfully while we’re maintaining the same quality of education and services.”

Sargent, another incumbent, agreed with Carter that the board has done well “anticipating” expensive events.

He also observed that Weston has “gorgeous facilities, but $65 million in debt to pay down.

“We will have to have some significant conversations on how we address needs versus wants,” Sargent continued. “How do we provide a richer environment, while still providing all the other services?”

Finkel, a cost consultant by trade, compared Weston residents to “shareholders” in an “education enterprise.”

“We deserve to get the best that we can for the money,” he said. “We are all challenged with doing more with less. So, how do we do more with less?”

Finkel also noted that Weston is the first in the state for taxes paid per capita, a “trend we cannot sustain in order to deliver the best education and services.”

Finkel, a Republican and 12-year Weston resident, is the only candidate currently embroiled in an ethics dispute.

Finkel’s company, Expense Reduction Analysts, performed work for the school district recently. Democrats Barbara Reynolds and Michael O’Brien asked the Board of Ethics to review Finkel’s candidacy; Reynolds is the chairman of the Weston Town Democratic Committee and O’Brien is the Democratic chair of the finance board.

Although the company's performed the work, it has not yet received payment in full for the services it performed; as a result, the board of ethics issued an advisory opinion that a conflict of interest exists between Finkel and the town.

Finkel supports the board of ethics but strongly disagreed with the board’s decision.

“We have a client-friendly payment plan; clients pay as the savings are achieved,” he said. If elected, Finkel volunteered that he would “forgo any future payments for this work. 

“I am also volunteering my services free of charge for the Board of Finance,” he said. “I am giving the town the opportunity to select candidates based on credentials.”