We are blessed to have a town that has strong financial health. There has been a structure established for the annual budget and the five-year capital plan, which has been managed well in recent decades that has allowed the town to maintain low taxes. However, there is room for improvement. We have to develop techniques that encourage some growth to support initiatives, without it becoming a negative impact on taxpayers, and those proposals need to be shared with taxpayers so there is clear understanding before a vote is taken at the annual budget meeting in May. I propose that work on the five-year capital plan happens much sooner in the budget cycle, so when it is shared with townspeople in January the selectmen have fully discussed the items contained in the document.

I strongly believe that income from grants could aid the town. There are many ways to do this and as first selectman I will be proposing that Kent seek and apply for a wide range of grants. We may need to have someone in town focused on obtaining and processing grants. Town Treasurer Barbara Herbst has done an amazing job of balancing her duties to manage the grants the town has obtained. Close cooperation is needed to make sure an expansion of grants sought does not have negative consequences on town departments, but it is a source of funding that should not be ignored.