Kubiak and Porter Recommended as Nonvoting Members of Finance Committee
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Photo: Town of Ayer, MA.
With only three of its five members present, the Governance, Operations, and Legislation (GOL) Committee recommended the appointment of Bernie Kubiak to serve the remaining year of Bob Hegner’s term as a non voting member of the Finance Committee and Thomas Avery Porter to a full three-year term. Hegner was elected to the Town Council in November, 2023. Kubiak has served as a nonvoting member of the Finance Committee since 2018, but his current term has expired. The recommendations will be forwarded to the council for consideration at its August 19 meeting.
The other applicants were Rizwana Khan and Steven KaCey. Interviews were conducted on June 13. Applicant Marylou Thielman withdrew prior to the interview. There was no discussion of the candidates at the July 18 GOL meeting. Kubiak was approved for the one-year position by a 3-0 vote. Both Lynn Griesemer (District 2) and George Ryan (District 3) supported Porter for the three-year opening. GOL Chair Ana Devlin Gauthier (District 5) supported KaCey, but voted with Griesemer and Ryan to unanimously recommend Porter. Councilors Freke Ette (District 1) and Pat DeAngelis (District 2) were absent.
Matt Holloway has one year remaining in his term as a non-voting member on the Finance Committee. Because the GOL votes were unanimous, the approval of Kubiak and Porter will most likely be included on the consent agenda at the August 19 council meeting. The consent agenda includes noncontroversial matters before the council, which are voted on as a block. Any councilor may remove an item from the consent agenda.