Finance Committee will interview all five vacancy applicants in public

WESTON -- October 14, 2021, Weston Finance Committee opens vacancy interviews to the full panel after subgroup plan collapses. Chair Lisa proposed reprising a small-group screening of the five applicants for the open seat, but when five members volunteered to participate, enough for a quorum, the committee agreed to a dedicated, public Thursday-evening interview meeting with a vote at a subsequent meeting. Member John McDonald pushed openness from the start, saying "anyone who wants … should be able to participate." Most of the two-hour meeting was consumed by a budget-guidelines debate ahead of the Oct. 25 financial summit, with member John Sally faulting two-year delays on a promised financial model and noting Weston's taxes run roughly 17 percent above the median-household benchmark, while member James countered that guidelines need Select Board and School Committee buy-in to bend the curve. Eleven of the town's 12 collective bargaining contracts are open this cycle.