Reading, MA — The Appointments Committee, consisting of Town Moderator Alan Foulds, Select Board chair Mark Dockser, and Finance Committee chair Eric Burkhart, made its choices for the five open positions on the Finance Committee (FinCom) on Wednesday, May 6. Former School Committee members Jeanne Borawski and Nicholas Boivin were selected for the two one-year positions that needed to be filled immediately as a result of the elections in March. Town Manager Robert LeLacheur counseled that the revised Fiscal Year 2021 budget, to be presented on May 12, will be “complex” and recommended that the two choices be individuals with experience and ability to think creatively.
Borawski has served on Town Meeting for ten years and left the School Committee in March after six and a half years of service. She also served on FinCom prior to her time on the School Committee. She stated that she wanted to help continue the collaboration that is evident in the budget process. Burkhart noted that she was already familiar with the process and stressed her familiarity with the school department budget. Boivin is a patent attorney who served on the School Committee for two years and previously served on the Audit Committee. He was also selected because of his familiarity with the budget process and his detail-oriented thinking. Both of these candidates will start immediately and will be able to reapply for three-year terms next year.
Incumbent FinCom member Andrew McLauchlan, thirty-one-year resident Mark Zarrow, and Marianne Downing were selected for the three-year terms. Zarrow and Downing will begin their terms on July 1. Zarrow, who owns and operates a corporate accounting firm, stressed responsibility to the taxpayers during his interview. Downing is an attorney who has been a Town Meeting member for five years and is well known for her detail-oriented informational posts regarding municipal issues on social media. “I have a big picture knowledge of what is going on in town,” Downing stated.
A total of nine candidates were interviewed during the Wednesday meeting. Burkhart extolled the quality of the candidates, opining that the town is “lucky” to have such a talented pool from which to choose. Burkhart also shared that his choices were made emphasizing experience, lack of agenda, and diversity of background and age.
The Appointment Committee adjourned at 8:10 pm.
