Members Sought For Bourne Finance Committee Vacancies
The Town of Bourne is seeking new members to serve on the Bourne Finance Committee.
A notice from Town Moderator Amy B. Kullar was posted to the Town of Bourne website last Wednesday, May 15, inviting interested Bourne residents to apply to serve on the committee.
The Bourne Finance Committee is a nine-member group that is charged with making recommendations to the Bourne Select Board and at Town Meeting regarding annual operating, capital, and enterprise budgets. The finance committee is also responsible for considering reserve fund transfers and making recommendations on all Town Meeting warrant articles having a fiscal impact on the town.
Depending on appointment, the committee currently has vacant 1-, 2-, and 3-year terms are available, per the town’s notice. Meetings are held at 7 PM on “various Mondays,” primarily in the winter and spring months, with the addition of Special and Annual Town Meetings. Meetings are generally held in person, but members do have the choice to participate virtually, the notice said.
Last fall, the Bourne Finance Committee voted to reduce its membership from 12 members to the current nine, citing difficulties with reaching the necessary quorum to hold its meetings. Member recruitment leading up to the decision had been quiet, chairman James D. Sullivan said in September.
Members of the committee are appointed by the town moderator and are not permitted to hold any other town office or serve on any board; additionally, both municipal and school employees are ineligible for appointment, which made last year’s member recruitment efforts more difficult, Mr. Sullivan said at the time.
Member A. Wayne Sampson, at a meeting last September, said that the finance committee has not had a full 12-member board “in the three years I’ve been here.”
An article requesting voters’ approval to reduce the committee’s membership from 12 to nine was officially passed at the Special Town Meeting last November.
Municipal finance knowledge is not required or mandatory to serve on the Bourne Finance Committee; however, the town’s notice stipulates that applicants must be registered to vote in the Town of Bourne and have an interest in contributing both their time and expertise “to the benefit of the Town and its residents.”
Bourne residents interested in applying to serve on the finance committee are encouraged to either submit a letter of interest to Mary Rebello by email at mrebello@townofbourne.com or in person/by mail to Bourne Town Hall at 24 Perry Avenue. More information can be found at bit.ly/bvacancies.