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Ossipee selectmen candidates focus on transparency, taxes and meeting access
Summary
Candidates for Ossipee selectman delivered two‑minute introductions and answered audience questions Tuesday night, centering on transparency in town spending, property taxes, meeting times and enforcement of zoning and ordinances.
Ossipee Town selectmen candidates debated transparency, property taxes and how accessible the town’s meetings should be as residents pressed them during a candidates forum moderated by town moderator Katie Gebly.
The candidates — Susan McGuire Doyle, Jay Murphy, Kyle Copeland, Steven Brown and Dallas Emery — told the audience they would learn the job quickly if elected and emphasized different priorities. Kyle Copeland said he would prioritize explaining recent financial choices to residents: “I think a select committee can do though is after town meeting...we can be much more diligent in how it’s spent.” Copeland also pointed to the town’s unassigned fund balance as context for fiscal discussions, saying the town has “an unassigned fund balance of $2,700,000.”
Several candidates and audience members identified transparency as a central concern. Steven Brown said increased openness would be a priority and called for greater public involvement: “I will look to...be available all the time. My public...cell phone will be available to the public.” Dallas Emery and others emphasized enforcing existing town votes and ordinances: Emery said that if voters adopt rules, “that is it…That’s what I’m gonna do.”
Timing and notice for selectmen meetings was another recurring issue. Multiple audience members asked whether the board would move meeting times to hours more accessible to working residents. Jay Murphy and other candidates expressed openness to a fixed, predictable meeting schedule: Murphy said he would “support a specific time and day and day of the week” so residents could more easily attend. Candidates also urged residents to consult the town website and minutes to follow board work.
Zoning enforcement, signage and clear‑cutting along rights‑of‑way drew questions from residents. Candidates said some projects (including state road work and vegetation trimming) were carried out under state authority. Doyle said a state reconstruction had been publicly reviewed: the state “came here and they showed us what they were gonna do.” Multiple candidates urged residents to attend planning and selectmen meetings to raise concerns directly.
The forum closed with candidates asking voters to take part in the upcoming election and town meeting dates announced by town clerk Kelly Skehan.
Why it matters: The selectmen shape day‑to‑day town administration, set warrant articles for town meeting and recommend budgets. Voter turnout at town meetings and in local elections determines whether proposed changes to services, tax policy or meeting access succeed.
