Finance Committee Elects New Chair, Vice Chair

Finance Committee · Meeting of October 27, 2026

SOUTHWICK — The Southwick Finance Committee reorganized its leadership and set an early direction for the fiscal 2027 budget. Members elected Paul Connelly as chair and a member identified as Howard Silhouettes as vice chair, then voted unanimously to let the two officers approve reserve fund transfers up to $20,000 and access town financial records without a full board meeting. New member Zach Jacobelis asked whether the panel could flag departments that overshoot their budgets; staff said two years of spending data are reviewed for variances.

Member Alita De Maria renewed a year-old request for school department performance metrics she said still had not arrived. Select Board liaison Joe called last year's absence of budget hearings "a damn embarrassment for this town" and said two Saturday hearings are planned this cycle. The committee agreed to seek level funding from departments rather than the 5 to 10 percent cuts requested in recent years.

In the full story:

• Committee Reorganization: New Members, Chair and Vice Chair
• Reserve Fund Transfer Authority and Financial Documentation Access
• Liaison Assignments
• Fiscal 2027 Budget Framework: Level Funding Versus Percentage Cuts
• School Budget Transparency
• Budget Hearing Schedule and the Purchase Order Policy
• Capital Equipment Updates
• School Enrollment and Routine Financial Information
• Open Meeting Law Training and Public Comment Policy
• Membership Recruitment
• Adjournment
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,613 words

Source: the Finance Committee meeting of October 27, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.