Mark Cowdrey — Budget Committee — Three-Year Term

I am a 25-year resident of Andover and a New Hampshire native. I was appointed to the Budget Committee in 2021, and elected to a two-year term in 2022. I am now running for a three-year term.

The Committee has recently concluded its work for the 2024 Budget, and after three years serving, I am getting a handle on the process. I aim to work closely with the various town departments and the Select Board to present a budget that meets the needs of the townspeople in a fiscally responsible manner. I believe that long-range planning for capital expenditures will further this goal.

Here at nearly the quarter point of the 21st century, there is inevitably a tension between appropriating sufficient funds to provide the services the Town expects and requires, and to restrict those same appropriations enough so that the tax rate is not onerous. If elected, I will work to thread that needle.