Concord Finance Committee elects leadership slate; members bid farewell to departing colleagues

The Concord Finance Committee nominated and unanimously elected a six‑person leadership slate for the 2025–26 cycle that will take office after town meeting adjourns, and the committee publicly thanked departing members Dee Ortner and Greg Gariello.

Nominations and vote: Chair Eric Dahlberg presented a proposed slate: Lois as chair, Lindsay as vice chair, Colin as clerk, Pat as vice clerk, Dawn as guidelines subcommittee chair and Paul as guidelines vice chair. A member nominated the slate and another seconded; the committee conducted a roll‑call vote and the slate was elected unanimously. Roll‑call confirmations named committee members in attendance voting aye, including Kathy Kuoklop, Eric Dahlberg, Pet Geier, Greg Gariello, Dawn Kupka, Lindsay Liss, Dee Ortner, Carlin Reed, Kasiza Druzman, Sri Tupole and Lewis Wasoff; the clerk declared the vote unanimous.

Why it matters: The elected officers will assume their duties after annual town meeting adjourns and will lead the Finance Committee through the 2025–26 budget cycle and town meeting preparations. The committee discussed that the new officers’ term begins after town meeting and continues until adjournment of the next year’s town meeting.

Farewells: The committee offered brief remarks of appreciation and small tokens to thank departing members Dee Ortner and Greg Gariello for their service. Members praised the departing members for their questions, ability to foster consensus and steadying contributions to the committee’s work.

Next steps: The newly elected officers will take on leadership responsibilities after town meeting. The committee agreed to meet one more time in late June (proposed June 26 at 6:30 p.m.) for debriefing and transition planning before the new leadership’s formal start date.