Tim Pearson for Tilton NH Selectman

TIM PEARSON

timpearson.us

Update 12/31/2008. I've resigned my position as selectmen in order to work full time for the Town of Tilton, NH as the Municipal Finance Manager. I've enjoyed being a selectman but believe I can be of greater use to the town in my new position.

Please note: this page is a representation in time of what I felt was important to see done during my next three year term. These posts were written in Feb 2008 and updated to show the election results in Mar 2008.

Re-elected March 11, 2007
Thanks to 275 voters, I was reelected on March 11th to a three year term.

So what’s it like to be a selectman? (Mar 2008)
Over the last year, I've experienced a learning curve being a new selectman. This process was made easier by helpful people in town who guided and taught me things. However, it still takes time to progress from learning (and accepting) how things are done to knowing enough to question why things are done that way. It has been both a fun and frustrating year. I’ve also realized that there is such an injection of personalities that what works well in one town may not work in another.

The biggest challenge this past year for me has been integrating my duties as selectman into an already busy life as a husband, father and foster parent who also has to earn a living. Being a selectman can take as much time as you’re willing to give it and then take some more. I’ve spent hundreds of hours on meetings and projects including rewriting the website and producing the town report. To help balance my home, work and selectman life, I plan to work more in an advisory capacity this next year (as opposed to directly hands-on).

Why vote for me? (Feb 2008)
I’m dedicated to improving life in Tilton. My strengths are in operations and financial management and I rely heavily on my business experience when working on Town business. If elected, I will work to improve our financial operations, processes, and reporting. Also, I hope to help with the selection of justifiable technologies in Town hall (archive scanning, voicemail, central phone number) to improve response to citizen needs and make town business more convenient. I’m frugal but I also recognize the value of certain services and opportunities which require a longer term view and investment for the future of Tilton. I would appreciate your vote on March 11th.

Why I’m Running for Selectman (Feb 2008)
I believe there’s a lot of unfinished business still to do in Tilton, especially in the financial area of town government:

As a member of the board of selectmen, we need more timely financial information in order to make good decisions.
We need to be sure that we’re efficiently applying resources in the finance area. Currently we employ a part time finance director who does everything from entering transactions to financial reporting. While the day to day transactions are getting done, the financial reporting has been delayed waiting on the 2006 audit to be completed. These numbers are needed to give us the right starting numbers for 2007. I would like the board to review financial statements quarterly if not monthly, to date we’ve not had these numbers to work with. I would also like to see the finance director provide the board with recommendations and guidance to improve our current situation and process. I’m concerned about the long term wisdom of having a part time person in what I believe needs to be a full time position. This is an area that I think needs improvement and greater focus from the board.
We need more time spent looking at the long haul, and while we’ll always have enough board business we’re reacting to, we also need to be forward looking and more thoroughly aware of the tax implications of our actions.
As selectmen, I also believe that we need to be aware of the issues facing our complementary districts -- both the fire and school, so that we have an overall understanding of the impact of providing services and being mindful of the total demands on the taxpayers.