RICK ATHERTON
Candidate for Board of Selectmen
1. Do you favor or oppose the idea of the selectmen appointing Planning Board, Historic District Commission and Shellfish and Harbor Advisory Board members rather than having them elected?

RICK ATHERTON

"The Finance Committee is currently receiving information on these issues to make recommendations on the Town Meeting warrant relating to this. I don't think it is prudent to say I have an opinion and then hear the information. I think that's one of the reasons I'd like to participate as a member of the Board of Selectmen - I believe in getting the facts, asking questions and hearing all the information before coming to a conclusion."

2. Do you see any ways to reduce or keep tight checks on the town budget in light of growth demands on services and infrastructure?

"If we continue as we are without changes we are going to continue to have overrides every year. I think we need to engage more stakeholders and find a way to get a sense for what level of services they want to pay for. Until the last couple of years the ability of the town departments to increase their level of services has been limited, during a time when our community has grown and we have more infrastructure needs, needs for more recreational fields, the wastewater treatment facility [upgrade] and how we deal with the landfill. All these have costs.

"It's easy to say slow down, but I think we need to have a dialogue. Hopefully, there is a middle ground everybody can buy into. If the community can develop a sense of how much you're willing to raise taxes on an annual basis and we can plan for that, then we can start to make choices about priorities. As it is now, each year you start fresh and it's hard to plan for three years out when you start fresh each year. It just doesn't work very well."

3. Do you believe issues facing the island today warrant a need for a full-time, paid Board of Selectmen or some other form of government?

"I'm a little old-fashioned maybe. I think the town is better served by a volunteer board. The combination of that with a responsible town administrator or manager to me is the way to go. If the workload on that board gets to be so large that they are going about it full-time, then I think they need to rethink how they're doing business. It's not meant to be full-time. And I have trouble seeing people giving up Town Meeting. That's a bit more complicated issue."

4. Do you believe the town should pay the Waste Options arbitration award of $1.2 million since interest on the amount has been accruing at $12,000 a month since the decision and the town's appeal at the end of November?

"I am sitting in on the executive sessions with the board and the town administrator and counsel, so I can't comment on that. It's no secret that over the years I've felt that the town could have had better oversight and continued planning as to how the landfill and the contract was going to play out - a closer involvement than they've had. If that had happened we might not be in the situation we're in, quite frankly." 5. Do you believe Town Meeting Article 46 prohibiting selectmen from any town job requiring 20 or more hours a week will eliminate qualified candidates for the board?

"The Finance Committee will vote on that. It's not just a matter of qualified candidates. I think one reason this comes to the fore is that there could be a perception that town employees could have an interest in the budget more than non-employees. But that's just a perception. It doesn't mean they won't

vote in the interest of the overall community." I