Northborough select board candidates focus on taxes, economic development and communicating with residents

Candidates for Northborough’s select board on Monday outlined a short list of priorities that they said would ease tax pressure on homeowners and strengthen town services.

At the forum hosted by the Northro Junior Women's Club, candidates repeatedly identified taxes and new revenue as the town’s top issue. Jacob, who said he has served on the select board for the past year, described a recent budget cycle in which officials were told the town needed roughly $1.88 million in an override but, he said, his board’s actions avoided that outcome and saved about $300,000 in levy capacity. “Large numbers are made up of small numbers,” Jacob said, urging close scrutiny of line items and small recurring savings.

Why it matters: Town officials and several candidates said avoiding override votes — which require additional voter approvals and raise taxes — is a central objective for budget planning over the next several years.

Candidates offered different but complementary approaches. Jeff Oagai called expanding the town’s commercial tax base the single most important lever to lower residents’ tax burdens over time. “If we want to build something sustainable, we need to increase the commercial base,” Jeff said, adding that the town should make itself more attractive to businesses and visitors.

Laura Ziton, a select board incumbent seeking reelection, said capital decisions such as the Peasley School building project require early, frequent engagement with residents and financial committees so the town can weigh costs, busing and traffic impacts. “This is not simply an issue of renovating Peasley; it could change the configuration of our schools,” Laura said, urging residents to follow the Peasley School Building Committee’s work.

Several candidates also raised process and morale concerns. Leslie Rutan said town staff morale has suffered and that restoring respectful treatment of employees is a campaign priority. “Town staff are our paid professionals; we pay them for their expertise and they need to be treated as such,” she said.

On budget technique, candidates converged on several tools: use of one-time reserves or stabilization funds for one-time spikes in costs, convening early financial summits with department heads and financial committees, and revisiting contributions to long-term liabilities such as OPEB to smooth year-to-year volatility.

What remains unresolved: Candidates differed on the scale and speed of commercial development they would pursue and on specific de-prioritizations. Jacob and Jeff emphasized a step-by-step savings approach and targeted economic development, while others stressed preserving open space and careful evaluation of downtown reconfiguration proposals.

The forum closed with practical voting information: the town election is May 12; polling will take place at the senior center.