Tim Clark. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

This is Tim Clark’s second run for the Board of Selectmen in as many years. He is running because he believes that those in charge of the town’s “fiscal footing” haven’t “charted us out of this.” After three years of cutting, the “cracks are already appearing,” he said, citing the schools as an example. Property values have flattened, he continued, noting that the town’s financial projections are based on property value growth. He wants to eliminate the need for overrides in the future. In addition to identifying additional revenue sources, Clark believes that the town does not do enough to lobby the state government for special education, schools, roads, and other costs. “The state is providing little,” he said, and we “don’t ask for enough.”

He believes that the leadership of the Board of Selectmen has to change, he said. The town wants to move forward on schools, the town center, Devens, and seniors’ services, Clark continued. He believes he would bring objectivity to the board and would facilitate a productive and open dialogue between the board and the public, which he says has been missing. The public wants to trust, he said, and when people bring information to the selectmen they need to believe that it will go somewhere. Clark feels that the selectmen don’t respond to the public’s concerns enough. He firmly believes that the public can make good decisions, he said, and he would make documents more readily available to townspeople.

Clark supports the Proposition 2½ overrides that would provide additional funds for the schools and asserts that, except for state-mandated expenditures, their spending is not out of control. Clark said he finds it unsettling that all funds for the schools were not included in the omnibus budget and were presented in separate warrant articles.

The Department of Public Works truck requested in Article 10, a capital exclusion for $140,000, should have been rolled into the override as well, Clark believes. “The schools are a scapegoat” for the town’s financial problems, he said, and the way the overrides were handled pits the schools against everything else. Clark advocates looking at town services as a whole—schools, highways, etc. The town is obligated to provide a certain level of services and one isn’t any less important than the others, he stated.

Until he knows the scope and content of the proposed special education audit, Clark said he wouldn’t take a position on it, although he recognizes that the public is concerned and he believes an audit may be necessary to heal the mistrust.

Clark, chairman of the Town Center Planning Committee, said that the highest priority for the town center is pedestrian safety. “Cars are second,” he said, and as changes to the town center are made everything must fit around pedestrian safety and access to the schools and nearby services.

Regarding the future of Devens, Clark believes that there may be opportunities for the town of Harvard at Devens, and that the town should do its due diligence before taking a position on it. He supports an open-minded, consensus-building approach that is free from the previous deliberations. The Joint Boards of Selectmen must set groundrules and be a credible group, he said. The stakeholders in the disposition process have 30 years to get it right, Clark continued, because it was not perceived to be an easy task.

Clark said that he adamantly opposes “hostile 40B developments,” which he believes are not in the best interest of the town. He supports keeping Harvard the same and protecting schools and town services. It would be cheaper for the town to build its own affordable housing, he asserts. If, for example, the town built 250 diverse affordable units consistent with the town’s character and needs, it could avoid the 750 market-value units that would accompany 250 affordable units built by 40B developers and that would require additional town services, especially schools. Clark cited the Housing Authority’s proposal to build 12 senior housing units on Mass. Avenue as a step in the right direction.