PRIORITIES

We have choices for who will serve on our Select Board and in the coming days you will hear each candidate's vision for our Town.

The candidates agree that we have a long list of challenges including increasing taxes, water quality & management, housing, infrastructure, coastal erosion, healthcare, education, elder services, childcare and everything in between.

It’s easy to list our problems as we’ve been talking about these challenges for years. What's not so easy?

Solutions.

Working together as a community to address our challenges and issues. Creating a plan that will take us from the problems we are facing today to solutions that work for generations to come. A plan that incorporates and respects the opinions, viewpoint, and needs of everyone in our community.

After hours and hours of meeting with you and hundreds or community conversations, I’ve developed a thoughtful, careful, long-term approach; a plan to address much of what we needs to be done and the plan for how to do it.

As you consider who to vote for in this election, please ask yourself of each candidate:

What’s our approach? What’s their plan? HOW will we work together with you and the rest of the Board after the election?

Do we have the temperament to have the candid, crucial conversations necessary to keep the lines of communication open and achieve our shared goals? Even, or especially when we don’t agree?

Do we have proven experience working within our Truro community – and beyond - that will help us be successful?

Do we have the leadership experience necessary to rebuild our community and get things back on track?

I'm sharing my ACTION plan here with you and I look forward to your feedback, as well as hearing from the other candidates about their action plan and their specific approach.

We can do this, Truro. We are better together.

Inclusive Leadership

Improve two-way communication and recommit to Select Board office hours. A consistent schedule with varying times and locations throughout the community so everyone can be heard.

Consider and respect community feedback by reviewing and prioritizing public comment as a Board, in public.

When elected, I will advocate for a standing agenda topic for every Select Board meeting to review and prioritize prior meeting public comments. While not every item will be addressed, it’s important to acknowledge public comment and what can and cannot be actioned.

Stabilize increasing tax rates with proactive, long-term and transparent fiscal policies. I would like to see more support for a proactive, long-range budget and capital improvement plan that anticipates and prioritizes funding for essential resources and infrastructure both now and in the future.

Rebuilding Community

Ensure transparency and inclusivity with a Community Advisory Board:

Create an Advisory Board of diverse community members to provide input on key decisions and priorities. This board will meet with the Select Board Quarterly to support two-way communication and two-way accountability.

Community led community forums. Community feedback must be the starting point for major initiatives and when elected I will advocate for informal forums led by community volunteers. There is a time and a place for municipal meetings and here I’m suggesting informal meetings, held in informal settings to encourage two-way communication with a balance of venues, topics, formats and processes so that everyone in our community feels comfortable sharing their ideas.

Encourage and develop a new generation of community leaders from diverse backgrounds.

Provide more opportunity, training and support for those interested in community service through Town Boards and Committees. This goes beyond a playbook and supports recruiting and development of our next generation of Town leadership.

Attainable Housing and Responsible Development

Housing is an important priority for Truro and we must understand and align our housing needs with critical infrastructure such as: water, transportation, conservation, healthcare and other support services. We need to develop a MASTER PLAN which takes into consideration the opinions, viewpoints, budgets and needs of everyone in our community.

I know how to bring key subject matter experts together and make sure the team is functioning properly to develop a thoughtful, strategic and actionable plan supported by all - even those with conflicting priorities. The key word here is action.

Continue to educate, explore and invest in renewable energy initiatives such as solar panel installations to reduce the Town's carbon footprint and lower energy costs. Part of my contribution while on the energy committee can be found here and could serve as a blueprint to continue to educate our community on our climate change priorities.

March 30, 2024