Where Oh Where Are Volunteers?
The deadline to serve on four Barrington boards has come and gone without an application for any of the positions, including the town's budget-shaping Committee on Appropriations.
Last week's deadline to apply to serve on Barrington’s Committee on Appropriations has come and gone with no volunteers stepping forth to serve on the board that shapes the annual budget for the Financial Town Meeting.
What to do?
The town's ordinances indicate only that the Town Council is to appoint a member to fill the vacancy. And the councilors prefer to do that after someone has applied, according to Linda James, Town Clerk.
The CoA includes 5 members. There is one vacancy. A volunteer is needed to fill a term that would run through the Financial Town Meeting next year.
The position description:
“Qualified candidate would perform detailed reviews of proposed annual school, municipal and capital budgets, meet with school and town management to resolve questions and make suggested modifications, interface with School Committee and Town Council to negotiate changes and review Town’s audited financial statements,”
Some financial education and experience is required, and budgeting experience is strongly preferred, according to the announcement for the position.
Any experience in secondary education or the municipal environment is a plus.
The time commitment is described as seasonal: bi-weekly meetings January through February; weekly meetings in March through May.
Meetings generally run two or more hours. You will also have to spend time reviewing budget documents.
There is an occasional need to represent the committee at meetings with the Town Council, School Committee, town manager and finance director. The committee presents the proposed annual budget to the Financial Town Meeting each May.
No volunteers stepped forward to serve on three other boards as well:
- Cemetery Commission: 1 vacancy (reappointment)
- Committee for Renewable Energy for Barrington (CREB): 3 vacancies (2 reappointments and 1 resignation)
- Juvenile Hearing Board: 1 vacancy (reappointment)
You can get résumé forms for all the positions through the website at www.barrington.ri.gov, at the Town Clerk's Office @ Town Hall, or at the Barrington Library.
Submit your résumé to the Town Clerk’s Office as soon as possible.
