Panofsky4Rehoboth — Overview of Experience, Talking Points, and Values

Active Town Volunteer: Chair the Personnel Board, Clerk for both the ZBA and Board of Human Services and Community Health, Rehoboth’s GATRA representative; election worker; previously Chair of Animal Advisory Committee and Clerk for Municipal Building Study Committee

Director of Rehoboth’s new H&HS Department, August 2022-May 2023, merging the Senior Center, Public Health Nurse, Human Services Outreach, and Veterans’ Services into a cooperative unit, at the wonderful Francis Farm site

Rehoboth Resident since 1989; two sons graduated from Dighton-Rehoboth High School in 1992 and 1993; spouse Carolyn also does a lot for our town. Born in California, and still learning to love winter

Experienced administrator (retired) at UMass Dartmouth, 1989-2012: covered academic services, new-programs, institutional research, accreditation; after retirement, served a year at the new UMass School of Law to help them achieve accreditation

Endorsed by the Rehoboth Democratic Town Committee; elected member and on Executive Committee
Lifelong Democrat who works across the aisle
“The Stars and Stripes - It’s our flag, too”

I’m running for a Selectman seat that does not have an incumbent seeking reelection

Slogans and ideals for town government:

• Face an ever-more-complicated and challenging world with skill, knowledge, and heart
• Do some planning, but get something done!
• Expect only the best from our workers, and ask for it too
• Improve the procedures that help the town perform; build teams for cooperation
• Tell the truth about how things work
• Love the past, and welcome the future
• Celebrate who we are and what we accomplish
• Look, listen, and learn; then lead

Hypothetical interview questions and responses
“What do you do for fun?” — Mainly, I work. Strangely, I love doing meeting minutes! Word-processing and spreadsheets are my recreation. I love home improvement work. And bird-watching. And listening to music. And reading, these days, mainly history. And doing scholarship on a research project about an ancestor who was an artist.

“What makes you want this position?” — In my volunteer and supervisor roles for the Town, I’ve come to deeply respect the folks who work for Rehoboth, from every one of the currently active Selectmen to the many wonderful town employees, and all our volunteers. We’re talented and dedicated; we work hard, and we care about what we do. At the same time, we’ve seen more complexity, more regulations; and I have specific abilities and experience to help Rehoboth manage those things well, successfully.

“Town government can’t be trusted.” — Regretfully, too many people don’t trust government or experts. My work life has been spent counteracting that, creatively, in public institutions. We can do a lot of good, and serve well. We must always watch for unfairness in any form, and remove it. And two more things: we must always tell the truth, fighting misinformation to make government more visible; and we must honor each other, listen, and understand “where you’re coming from.”

“How would you manage proposals for change that involve new spending?” — One principle is to take small steps and evaluate as we go. Test and verify to be sure it works. Seek grants or project funding. Empower our accounting and compliance teams to check everything, assisted by town counsel. The Board needs to rely on expertise, but monitor progress continually.

“What is your position on the town’s taxation rate?” — This is a tough question. I don’t say “never” and I don’t say “always.” Every proposal needs tough-minded review. I believe our town government serves Rehoboth well, and needs the money to keep doing so. We always have to spend our money wisely, and that includes smart uses of taxation. I definitely support expanding tax relief programs for citizens who need help with tax burdens.

“How should our money be managed?” — The voters approve expenditures in Town Meeting, which is how it works in our democracy. Our procedures now keep a good balance between voters determining the budgets and managers controlling the details. We must always have strong systems for accountability. I mean, open books and regular access to reports on activities and expenditures. These must be easy to find on the web. By the way, I will push hard to get the Annual Town Reports back into existence, but conveyed on line. And also push for the town website and Cable TV to show our government at work.

“Can you enumerate some specific town improvements you’d like to see?” — It’s a concern that we have to rely on transportation by car and some of our Elders are kept homebound by that. It’s a concern that no supermarket is close by. It’s a concern to see pedestrians and bicyclists so close to the traffic along 118 and other major roads. I definitely support better speeding control on our town roads. I applaud our town’s progress in energy efficiency and will work hard for that. We need to preserve the good news that the Town and Schools are working better together. In the areas of communication, we always need timelier, more accurate web information and expanded Cable TV and public information forums — I would definitely support those things. I’d like to make public information about all of our town’s sources of money; Rehoboth is “bigger than we think.”

“Do we have enough workers in town?” — Let me answer this way: it’s a real question, and I will attend to it carefully. We use many small departments, and we rely heavily on expertise from our many good volunteers. I believe in seeking the right balance between spending on roads, equipment, computers, and information security, and spending on people who get the work done. We expect the best from our workers, too.

“Should Rehoboth move to a Town Manager system?” — Maybe someday. Better to look at how we make our system work now. Going from 3 to 5 selectmen strengthened us some years back. The Board has recently had very good success, in my observation, assigning each Selectman as liaison to departments and committees that fit with their commitments and interests. This is good management. It has also been good management to bring the Financial departments and the Human Services departments together each under one overall strong manager. This kind of organization fosters cooperation while also focusing expertise. Finally, other towns can attest that the town manager system doesn’t always run smooth.

“What do you think of our current Planning Board and Zoning regulations?” — These are our regulations; we approved them, and we must preserve our town’s uniqueness and beauty; but update the rules when needed, too. Rulings need to be clear and understandable. Attempts to get around our regulations need to be managed better. For example, the 40B legislation that permits compressed housing can be regulated if water or other physical limitations warrant; I helped the ZBA craft a much tougher application process. Senior-friendly housing should be developed carefully; it is great to see our Housing Authority doing its good work. We must also continue to ensure our zoning is both residential- and business-friendly, and always works for farming and agriculture. And continue to support conservation and be proud of what we’ve done in that area.