Last modified: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 10:55 PM EDT MOFFITT: Finances key in N. Attleboro BY WILLIAM MOFFITT I am asking for your vote for selectman at the April 1 town election so I can continue the work to keep North Attleboro a great place to live and raise a family. My years of volunteer work in youth sports, school music groups, the North Attleboro Scholarship Foundation and my government activities have convinced me there is no better place to live in this area. My sons learned skills for a lifetime in our school system, and we have to keep our schools strong. Our public safety services are second to none, and we value keeping our residents safe. We pick up your trash, clear the roads, provide electricity, water and sewer, all at rates that have been the lowest around. Living in North Attleboro is a good deal, but all the candidates for selectman agree that the number one issue in this election is the financial challenges facing our town. I believe that my education, experience, and level-headed leadership best equips me to face those challenges in the best interest of the town. I am a certified public accountant with a master's degree in business administration with years of experience as your treasurer-collector. None of the other candidates can match my knowledge and understanding of financial matters, Massachusetts finance laws, or the town's financial assets that are available to solve these challenges. I saved the town over $3 million by refinancing debt, combining the treasurer and collector positions, selling unneeded parcels of property, and implementing cost-saving technologies, and similar opportunities are still available. Government reform is another issue that is being discussed in this election and my five years as your town clerk has given me knowledge of the town's history, laws, documents and traditions that equip me well. We need to identify reforms that will improve town services to our residents at lower cost, but preserve the checks and balances so important to good government. As chairman of the board of selectmen this year, I have facilitated a number of meetings on government reform and we have identified a number of areas for further review. Before long, with the cooperation of a number of town boards, I am confident we will propose a number of improvements in the town's permitting procedures through modest administrative changes. Later on, more dramatic recommendations are possible for reorganizing our town government, but only after careful consideration and at a pace acceptable to the town's residents. But I am most excited about the new management team we have in place in town hall and the new opportunity we have to work on things we have been unable to address for years - an opportunity to do some strategic planning. One of the great opportunities before us right now, while residential real estate has slowed, is to plan for the future development in town. How do we want the west side of town and our downtown area to look in 20 years? There are large tracts of farmland on the west side of town that will be developed some day and the town has to have its voice heard on how that development should look. There are looming opportunities in our downtown area as well. It is in the town's best interest to work with all involved to help ensure that new development meets the town's identified needs. We need to restart the strategic planning meetings we had in 2005 and try to influence developers to work on projects that will meet our future housing, commercial, and municipal infrastructure needs. Once the real estate market rebounds, it will be too late. North Attleboro is a great place. Despite the current fiscal issues, the future is bright and I want to be a part of it. I ask for your vote on April 1 so I can continue to work for you to deliver the services the residents of North Attleboro expect and deserve. BILL MOFFITT is a North Attleboro selectman seeking re-election. The Sun Chronicle welcomes guest columns of up to 600 words from candidates for local office. Submissions must be received at least two weeks before the day of voting. The deadline for columns related to North Attleboro's April 1 election must be received by 5 p.m. March 17. Brief letters of endorsement of candidates are accepted until one week before the day of voting, or March 24 in the North Attleboro elections.