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Westport Town Meeting The Finance Committee
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If you are interested in serving on the Finance Committee, the Moderator is ALWAYS looking for qualified candidates to fill future openings. Please click HERE to email your interest to the Moderator. Appointment of Finance Committee Members: The Process and the Criteria One of my duties as Westport Moderator is to appoint members of the Finance Committee. I write to explain to the community some things about the Finance Committee and the appointment process. I do so both to make the process more open and transparent and to encourage greater community participation. There are nine members of the Finance Committee. Each is appointed to a three year term beginning July 1 and expiring 3 years later on June 30. So every year on June 30, three terms expire. Those individuals must either be re-appointed or new members appointed to take their place. Re-appointment is not automatic for those wiling to continue serving. While re-appointment is the easiest course of action, it isn't necessarily the best thing for the town. It is my job to appoint the most effective Finance Committee I can from a pool of volunteers including both those whose terms are ending and those who have volunteered, but have yet to serve. The town deserves an explanation of the principles that have and will guide my appointment of FinCom members. All candidates must certainly have the knowledge and/or experience to understand the financial and organizational issues involved and must have the time and energy to commit to full participation. Greater knowledge or experience in finance or town government is helpful, but there is always a place also for the perspective offered by those with less financial or government experience, but good common sense. Communication and people skills are supremely important. I expect the Finance Committee to lead us by example in our pursuit of courteous, respectful civic discourse. That includes the self discipline of “seeking first to understand, then to be understood”. It also includes the ability to disagree agreeably. Allocation of scarce dollars is hard and passionate disagreements arise. When parties disagree respectfully without belittling their adversaries, we a have a foundation for better agreement and cooperation in the future. When, in civic discourse, adversaries show disrespect for one another in their words or actions, they poison the well from which we all drink and our community and our politics suffer. Balancing representatives of conflicting points of view is also a consideration. The best solution to this problem is for members to check their points of view at the door and decide all issues in terms of the town’s best interest. Since I have been Moderator and have watched FinCom activity carefully, I have not witnessed a single failure in this respect. That being said, what one sees as “the town’s best interest” is necessarily affected by one’s political philosophy, one’s geographic location in town, one’s financial status, one’s age, and many other factors. I hope to achieve balance in as many of these factors as possible to the extent possible with the volunteers available. In my opinion, residents of the north end of town, women, and 20 to 40 year-olds are presently under-represented. While all volunteers for FinCom service are appreciated, any who would help balance these areas would be especially helpful. This is a public process open to public participation. If you are interested in serving on the Finance Committee, please do not wait until next June to contact me. Unexpected vacancies can and do occur. If you have input on the selection criteria above, please share it with me. Your suggestions are welcome. I can be reached by email at Moderator@westporttownmeeting.com. My address and telephone number are in the book. I hope to hear from you.
Members Click on a name to review that member's resume (if available)
Members' Resumes Paul Schmid, IIIMy family moved to Westport when I was 16, after summering in South Dartmouth since I was 5. We have been raising beef cattle since then, which I now do in partnership with my sister. We are proud of having put almost entire 250 acres under conservation. I went to Harvard and Harvard Business School. Worked at JP Morgan in NYC for two years. Then went to work for my father’s firm, Schmid Brothers, in Randolph, MA., distributors of giftware including Hummel figurines and other similar products. Business was dissolved in 1994, at which time we employed 250 and had sales of $80 million. Have been active at a number of schools and colleges, including Harvard, Stanford, Kenyon, St Georges, Exeter and Milton. I am in charge of fundraising for the Westport Land Conservation Trust and am on Leadership Council at New Bedford Whaling Museum. Have served on other community boards in South Coast and in Boston. Robert McCarthyI am a graduate of Salve Regina University with a B.S. Degree in Criminal Justice and a M.A. Degree in Human Development. I am also a graduate to the Massachusetts State Police Academy in Framingham, Massachusetts and the F.B.I. National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. I am a retired Lieutenant from the Massachusetts State Police where I served for twenty-five years. During my career with the Massachusetts State Police, I served in field, staff and investigative services. Some of my assignments have included being the Station Commander at several barracks across the Commonwealth, the Supervisor of Cases and Reports, Commanding Officer of the Public Affairs Unit at General Headquarters, Director of Recruit Training for Municipal Police Officers, and Detective Commander at the District Attorney's Office in Bristol County. While a member of the Massachusetts State Police, it was within the scope of my duties as the Unit Commander to put together a budget that covered both the personnel and operational expenses of the unit so that it could function on a twenty four hour basis, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty five days a year. During my years in the military, I served as a specialist with S-2 Intelligence with the United States Army in Berlin, Germany during the mid to late 1960's. One of my duties was to put together an operational budget. I have been involved in the field of education for over thirty-five years. I began as an elementary school teacher in the 1960's as a substitute teacher in the City of Fall River and the Town of Westport. I have also served as a college instructor at both Fisher College and Salve Regina University for a period of approximately ten years. I retired in 1993 from the Massachusetts State Police to become the Director of the Office of Education and Compliance. The office is currently located in Cranston, Rhode Island and has both public and private clients mostly in the New England area. Some of these clients include the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, various municipalities in both states, religious organizations, private companies, attorneys, and others. The principle function of the Office of Education and Compliance is to conduct training seminars and investigations for our clients. Investigative services includes, background investigations, sexual harassment compliance, embezzlement and fraud investigations and other inquires as the clients may require including polygraph examinations and handwriting analysis. We also provide case management and trial preparation procedures and work with various psychologists, attorneys and others in behalf of our clients and appear at depositions and in various courts as expert witnesses in criminal and civil matters. The educational services include instructing others during training seminars on how to conduct various investigations and advising others on the requirements of various federal and local laws. As the Director of the Office of Education and Compliance, it is within the scope of my duties to make sure that both the educational seminars and various investigations are conducted in a timely and efficient manner. It is also my responsibility to make sure that all of the administrative matters documenting these functions are also completed in a timely and efficient manner. My fiduciary duties include making sure that all of the personnel and expenses are paid in accordance with various contracts and policies. I am also a member of the Fall River Five Cent Savings Band, and serve on the Board of Corporation for the last fourteen years. I am very much interested in the stock market and other financial endeavors and I am a founding member of W.I.N. and have been active in it for a period of twenty five years and served as its' Chairman for several years. I have been a member of the Westport Finance Committee for the last nine years and I am very familiar with the duties and functions of this board and its requirements. I am basically conservative by nature and training, and as I told you last night, I believe that the taxpayer can spend his own money better than I can. He earned it and has the right to it. With that said, I believe that we all have obligations to our community that we must fund as part of being a member of that community. Striking a balance, getting the most for the taxpayer and covering the needed obligations of the community is in my view what being a member of the Finance Committee is all about. I view this fiduciary responsibility as a great challenge.
John E. MillerJohn E. Miller was one of the principal founders and organizers of Intermetrics, Inc. in 1969. He was initially elected President and CEO a position he held until 1986. He was then elected to Chairman of the Board a position he held until 1993. He retired from Intermetrics in 1990. He remained a director of Intermetrics until 31 August 1995 when the company was merged. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Mr. Miller served 10 years in the US Air Force, with assignments at the Air Force Missile Test Range, Alamogordo, NM; at the Guidance Laboratory at the Wright Air Development Center, OH; and as an Assistant Professor at the Air Force Institute of Technology. During this period he received an MS Degree from the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1959 Mr. Miller joined the staff of the M.I.T. Instrumentation Laboratory (now The Draper Laboratory), where he was first involved in the development of a direct digitally encoded accelerometer for the Polaris missile guidance system. Following successful flight demonstrations of the guidance system, he began work in 1961 on the Apollo guidance, navigation, and control system for the flight vehicles to the moon. He was appointed Technical Director for the systems development at M.I.T., and had full responsibility for this hardware, as well as the checkout software in the Command and Lunar flight vehicles. Mr. Miller built up an organization to complete the design, prototype construction, and testing at M.I.T.; to monitor production and testing in industry; and to operate five field offices. As President and CEO at Intermetrics, Mr. Miller led Intermetrics from a start-up private company to a public company with $46 million in revenues and 600 employees, in 13 locations throughout the US. Mr. Miller has served on the Board of Directors of Galaxy Scientific Corporation, Sage Laboratories, Active Control eXperts, Inc. and on the Boston University Enterprise Board of the Photonics Center. He is a Research Affiliate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Awards include the NASA Public Service Award for achievement in computer software for the Space Shuttle Orbiter Avionics System. Mr. Miller is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is a member of the MIT Alumni Venture Mentoring Service as a mentor. He served on the NASA Space Station Advisory Committee and became the Chairman of the Committee. Concurrently he was a member of the NASA Advisory Council. He is a board member of the MIT Alumni Board, is an MIT Research Affiliate and serves as a mentor at the MIT Venture Mentoring Services. He is a board member of Vehicle Sense, Inc. He resides at 5 Windward Way, Westport Point, MA with his wife, Janice. Senior Project Manager Halliwell Engineering Associates, Inc.
Mr. Cormier is married and has three children, two attending Westport Middle School and the oldest attending Bishop Stang High School. He and his wife, Kathy, moved to Westport 16 years ago and reside with their children on Drift Road.
MAIN AREAS OF PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE Building Investigation and Analysis
Building Investigations, Analyses and Recommendations Moisture Intrusion Engineering Forensic Analysis of Exterior Wall and Roofing Systems Analysis of Architectural and Structural Building Systems Development of Facility Condition Assessments/Capital Improvement Plans Preparation of Cause and Origin Damage Assessments Scope of Damage Assessments Remedial Design and Reconstruction Scope Development Cost Estimating Building Code Reviews
Construction Management Development of Remedial Design Plans and Specifications Preparation of Competitive Bidding Documents Bid Analysis and Recommendations Development and Management of Critical Path Schedules Project Expediter On-Site Project Management Contract Administration Inspections, Verification and Validation Project Closeout, Final Documentation SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE Mr. Cormier joined Halliwell Engineering Associates, Inc. 24 years ago as a project engineer for the design and construction management of complex civil and environmental projects. He has more than 30 years experience in the construction/engineering industry, including design, construction, forensic investigations, remedial design, reconstruction and verification of building system repairs. Mr. Cormier specializes in leading on-site building investigations, developing condition assessment reports, preparing remedial designs, and providing project management of the required repairs. His education and experience in engineering and construction management enable him to adeptly analyze, manage and execute all aspects of building envelope retrofit projects. His experience includes commercial and corporate high-rise office buildings, hotels, schools, hospitals, industrial manufacturing facilities and power generation plants. He was responsible for the on-site investigation, condition assessment, design and project management of the identified retrofits of eighteen South Florida high-rise residential apartment buildings, concentrating on correcting HVAC and building envelope deficiencies that resulted from excessive moisture intrusion and resultant mold growth. Most recently, he has been investigating large and complex properties in Florida, evaluating the scope of hurricane-related damages, associated required repairs and estimating retrofit costs. Additional analysis includes code studies for rebuild impacts and differentiation of hurricane-related damages from pre-existing conditions.
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS Education: B.S. Civil Engineering Worcester Polytechnic Institute Specialized Training: How to Avoid Building Envelope Problems Achieving High Performance Buildings through a Whole Building System Design Approach The Membranes in Wall Systems Mold, Moisture and the Building Envelope Eight Annual Westford Symposium on Building Envelope Science Design-Build: An Integrated Method of Construction Delivery Total Building Commissioning Developing and Managing Facility Condition Assessments Commissioning of HVAC Systems and Other Building Components
REGISTRATIONS Registered Professional Engineer: New York South Carolina Massachusetts Utah Michigan Hawaii Rhode Island Florida
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES American Society of Civil Engineers Environmental Information Association American Society for Healthcare Engineering Southern Building Code Congress International
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND HISTORY Barrett Inc. Surveyor/Engineer Keyes Associates Field Inspector Halliwell Engineering Associates, Inc.
Senior Project Manager 1996 – Present Project Manager 1990 – 1995 Project Engineer 1981 – 1989
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE BUILDING INVESTIGATIONS AND ANALYSES Examples of Selected Projects. The Palm Court Resort Hotel, Vero Beach, FL Completed a hurricane damage assessment of the building envelope components and interior finishes to determine and separate pre-existing damage from hurricane damage. Interstate Hotels, Clearwater and Buena Vista, FL Completed a hurricane damage assessment of the building envelope and interior finishes to determine and separate pre-existing damage from hurricane damage. Hurricane Ivan Claims, Florida Panhandle Completed hurricane damage assessments of multiple commercial and residential properties in the Florida Panhandle. The assessments included separating damages into wind related damages and flood related damages. Good Samaritan Medical Center, West Palm Beach, FL Completed a hurricane damage assessment of the roof-top mechanical equipment, building envelope components, and interior finishes to determine and separate pre-existing damage from hurricane damage. Providing construction management services relative to completion of required repairs/replacements of damaged exterior building components. Hershey Lodge, Hershey, PA Completed mechanical equipment and building envelope moisture intrusion investigation and conducted a design and installation peer review of recommended repairs.
Hampton Inn, Rehoboth, MD Provided moisture intrusion assessment and developed subsequent moisture/mold remediation plan and contract documents. Saratoga Square Apartments, Saratoga, VA Completed building envelope and moisture intrusion assessments, and prepared the remediation design. Archstone Smith Residential, Hollywood, FL Developed a comprehensive Facility Condition Assessment for Archstone Smith Residential’s eighteen South Florida high-rise residential apartment buildings, targeted to identify building envelope and/or mechanical equipment or system deficiencies that could result in moisture intrusion and potential mold growth. Developed and program managed a Corrective Action Plan through completion of a $12 million program of building envelope, mechanical and electrical remedial projects.
Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, GA Developed a campus-wide Facilities Condition Assessment and 5 Year Capital Improvement Plan to provide the University’s financial and facilities administrators with a concise document to assist them in planning for the future needs of their campus facilities. Also provided Construction Management and Commissioning services to assist Clark Atlanta during the construction and start-up of their Environmental Science and Technology Research Laboratory Building, as well a new four-building residential apartment complex and parking garage.
Hydroelectric Power Generation Responsible for the permitting, design, construction supervision and start-up of six hydroelectric power generation plants varying in size from 500 kilowatts to 14 megawatts.
EDUCATIONHarvard Business School, Cambridge, MA MBA with Honors Academic emphasis: finance, manufacturing, small business and industrial marketing. Brown University, Providence, RI BA in Economics, High Honors Academic emphasis: U.S. and international macroeconomics and macro-economic interactions. EMPLOYMENTWall Street Investor Relations, New York, NY…………… September 2004- Present Consultant Investor relations and management consulting with small firms that are unable to afford an in-house dedicated investor relations person. Manage the presentation of the company to investors, potential investors and the public with the goal of either raising capital or maximizing their stock price. Gardner Real Estate, Dartmouth, MA September 2003 – Present Realtor Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI January 2003Instructor q Developed a six week course for art students called “A Mini-MBA” to familiarize students with core business concepts and learn to read and interpret basic financial statements. The focus on needs of a start-up and introduce the concept of a business plan which integrates the elements of the business’s strategy in a manner consistent with the business’s product, market, and financial resources. Wall Street Investor Relations, Chevy Chase, MD Director, 1999 – 2002 Consultantq Revised the marketing strategy of WSIR from stock placement, to the analysis of client firms’ strategic advantages, business plans and their implementation. Using this information, we developed consistent core investment themes for client companies, which we then helped to communicate to investors and the public. Black Sea Wine Company, Dedham, MA President 1991 to 1997 Importerq Developed one of the first U.S. business relationships with producers, shippers, and government agencies in Bulgaria after the fall of Communism. Wine was marketed in 22 states. Independence Investment, Boston, MA Vice-President, 1985 to 1991 Analyst, Economist, Back-up Portfolio ManagerIndependence is a pension fund manager with over $2 billion of assets under management, operated as an independent subsidiary of John Hancock Insurance Company. q Analyst and industry specialist responsible for equities of internationally traded commodities (chemicals, metals, mining, paper, forest products). q Responsible for analysis of world economics, money flows and currencies. q Responsible for buy and sell recommendations, and daily monitoring an average of $100 million of investments in my areas of coverage. q Back-up manager of a quantitative investment portfolio. q Developed a reorganization plan which enabled Independence to manage its rapid growth with less direct oversight by founders. Plan was implemented. Harvard Management Group, Boston, MA Vice-President, 1983 to 1985 AnalystHarvard Management runs the equity portion of Harvard University’s endowment, with assets under management at the time of approximately $900 million. q Responsible for buy and sell recommendations on equities in the software and chemical industries, and for monitoring portfolio holdings in these industries. Buckley and Company, Wellesley, MA Vice-President, 1979 to 1983 ConsultantBuckley & Company was a general management consulting firm, specializing in medium-sized manufacturing firms.Highlights Hall SparsStart-upq Market research, developed business plan for bank financing, set up books and financial control systems, set up inventory control, and “opened” the office. Hall is currently a top U.S. producer of custom and one-design masts. Delphic OneBusiness and Financial Planning Model q Wrote detailed integrated business planning program, which began with input costs, and outputted complete financial statements. Invested over $10,000 in on-line mainframe computer time. Learned programming language from scratch. No other such program available at the time (1980). Black and WebsterBusiness Planning and Strategy q Using the Delphic One model, worked with management to generate inputs, and ensure validity of projections. Participated in quarterly review of plan to actual with managers. Software Proficiencyq MS Word, MS Excel, PowerPoint, MS Paint, MS PhotoShop, Adobe, Publisher
Edward R. Goldberg 1 Hav-A-Look Ln. Westport, MA 02790
Birthday 12/5/37 Health: Excellent
Work Experience: 1959-1968 Served State Street Bank and Trust Company, Boston, as credit analyst and developed mid market lending programs for professionals and small businesses. Helped create and implement first national bank credit card program that later became part of Visa network. 1969-2001 Became Managing Director and Senior Vice President of several major brokerage firms including Donaldson Lufkin and Jenrette and Credit Suisse First Boston. Advised clients on investment strategy and oversaw portfolios for families, foundations, European banks and public pension funds. 2002-2004 Elected Managing Director at Boston Private Value Investors and acted in capacity of Senior Portfolio Manager and Director. The company was responsible for managing eight hundred million dollars with a deep value orientation. Outside Activities: Former member of Board of Overseers, Colby College Board of Governors, Technion Institute of Science and Technology, Haifa, Israel Founder of Technion Institute of Management that is devoted to developing the global competitiveness of companies Board Member, Carroll Center for the Blind, Newton, MA Guide for blind teenagers in transition
1893 Main Road Westport Point, M Purchased home in Westport in 2001 Resident of Westport since
1/1/2004 1999-1997:
Manager Operational Services for East Asia Region: 1999-1997
ARTICLE IIIFINANCE COMMITTEE:0301. The Finance Committee shall hereafter consist of nine members to be appointed by the Moderator, three members to serve for one year, three members for two years and three members for three years, the Moderator to make annual appointments for a term of three years to fill vacancies because of any expired term. 0302. Whenever the warrant for any town meeting contains an article or articles under which an appropriation or expenditure of money or the disposal of any property of the town may be made, the Finance Committee shall consider said articles after giving one or more public hearings thereon and shall report its recommendations to the town meeting. 0303. The Finance Committee shall prior to each annual town meeting prepare and distribute to the voters of the town a budget showing in detail, when available, the anticipated expenditures of the town for the coming fiscal year together with its advice and recommendations with reference to the various appropriations of town funds and other municipal matters coming before such town meeting at least one week prior to each town meeting. The Selectmen, School Committee and all departments required to hold public hearings relating to town meeting warrant articles, including budgets, shall hold such hearings and furnish report thereon to the Finance Committee not less than five (5) weeks prior to the Town Meeting. 0303.1 The Selectmen and all Boards, Committees, Heads of Departments and all other officers of the Town authorized to expend money shall furnish to the Finance Committee not later than January 20 a detailed estimate of the amounts necessary for maintenance and operation of the department under their jurisdiction for the ensuing year. 0303.2 The Selectmen shall furnish to the Finance Committee no later than February 10 a showing the sums of money required for each article except the article on budgets as referred to in 0303.1. Information necessary for Special Town Meetings shall be furnished to the Finance Committee not later than four (4) weeks prior to the Meeting. 0304. Town meeting as used in this section shall mean the business portion commencing on the first Tuesday in April.
Meetings are usually held the third Tuesday of every month at 7 PM at Town Hall and are open to the public. Watch local papers for occasional schedule changes. Finance Committee meetings are broadcast live on local access cable television Channel 15. They are also rebroadcast the following weekend. Watch the channel 15 roller for times.
Finance Committee Recommendation PolicyThe responsibility of the Finance Committee is to present a balanced budget to Town Meeting. This budget is presented as recommendations to the warrant articles at Town Meeting. The totality of warrant articles fall into three (3) general loosely defined categories. The FinCom will make recommendations on all articles in each category. Category 1 These are the warrant articles that have clear and unambiguous financial measures. Examples are the Town Budget, the addition of personnel, an over-ride, a debt exclusion, bond issue, etc. With these warrant articles the FinCom will make a clear recommendation of (a) Approved and the funding source or (b) Not recommended and some rationale as to why. In these cases the FinCom will have determined the budget amounts for the coming fiscal year. If appropriate, the committee also comments on future years obligations to the best of its ability. Category 2 These are warrant articles where there is no reasonable way to calculate or estimate the financial obligation or even determine if there is a financial impact or obligation. For these warrant articles the FinCom recommendations may be (1) Recommended on the basis of reasonable judgment, (2) Not recommended on the basis of reasonable judgment or (3) No recommendation as the financial impact cannot be determined to exist or it is beyond the reasonable judgment of the FinCom to evaluate. Category 3 These are warrant articles that fall into the gray area where with good judgment it is determined that a financial impact does exist, but it is difficult or impossible to quantify. Every effort of the FinCom will be used to make a reasonable estimate of the financial impact with suitable qualifications. An example of such an article would be the recent article on inclusionary housing. Some aspects of the financial implication are reasonable to expect, but are difficult to quantify. For these kinds of warrant articles the FinCom will make one of 3 possible recommendations. (1) Recommended, (2) Not recommended or (3) No recommendation. In any case the FinCom will provide, to the best of their ability, a rationale for their recommendation including the pros and cons as determined by the committee. It is the responsibility of the department or individual responsible for the warrant article to present to the Finance Committee the actual or estimated cost to the town for the article. |
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