Weston Finance Committee appoints Paul Clark to fill mid-term vacancy

WESTON — November 19, 2020 — Weston Finance Committee appoints Paul Clark to fill mid-term vacancy as fiscal 2022 outlook darkens. The committee voted unanimously Thursday to seat Clark, a chartered accountant and Ernst & Young global vice chair, chosen by a three-member subcommittee from nine applicants to fill the seat vacated by Gerard Murphy; the appointment runs only through the next Town Meeting. Clark cannot vote until sworn in by Town Clerk Deb Davenport. The chair previewed a fiscal 2022 budget facing roughly $1.1 million in lost state aid, $1.2 million to restore OPEB funding, a 3 percent school budget increase and a restored $500,000 in road work — a back-of-envelope 5.4 to 5.5 percent increase before debt and capital. Member John Sally warned the result "is going to be really ugly." Town Manager Leon Gaumond said he is holding budget guidance to department heads until after the still-unscheduled Financial Summit, honoring the spring compromise: "110 percent I'm committed to that."