The three people running to fill two seats on the North Yarmouth Budget Committee June 14 keyed in on experience, communication and research when asked about the town’s budget process and prioritizing spending.
Retired commercial banker Peter Harvey Godsoe, former Budget Committee member Darla Hamlin and incumbent Andy Walsh are on the ballot for the two seats. The second available seat is now held by James Knight, who is not seeking reelection.
Godsoe
Godsoe, 64 and a Republican, said he is fiscally conservative but understands when long-term investments are warranted. Until he gets into “the inner workings of the budget process,” he said, he can’t cite specific areas where he would recommend further investments, increases or decreases be made.
He cites his 40-year career in commercial banking as an asset for the committee.
“I understand business. I did some business with municipalities over the years, and would like to get back to utilizing some of my work history relating to the town budget,” he said.
Hamlin, 74, a Republican who served on the budget committee from 2007 through 2012, said she wants to rejoin the committee “to find solutions, not problems.” She said communicating with residents throughout the budget process is critical and she wants to find better ways to engage with them.
Hamlin
She also wants to see tangible investments made in town, specifically on infrastructure like roads and sidewalks, with a focus on the downtown village.
“We should make sure everything we do centers on the needs of the community, which is dynamic,” Hamlin said. “It’s a constantly changing community, so it should remain viable.”
Walsh, 67 and an independent, has been a member of the budget committee since 2009 and chairperson since 2020.
When asked how he would make the annual budget process more efficient, he said he would have town auditors meet with the budget committee to discuss the undesignated fund account, cash flow and tax districts before the committee makes recommendations.
He would also have the Select Board form an ad hoc committee to study, analyze and project revenues and expenditures from tax districts.
Walsh
Walsh wants to ensure capital reserves “are adequate, with a little bit of padding,” with a goal of not borrowing for purchases and not paying interest. That will help the town avoid bonding for big-ticket purchases like a new fire truck, he said.
“I have a lot of experience with the budget committee and I think we’ve done a good job,” he said. “We’re trying to improve the process. We take a very detailed, hard look at everything and I’d like to keep doing that. I’m non-partisan, I listen to both sides, I don’t make a decision until I’ve heard both sides and I try to keep an open mind.”
Now retired, Walsh founded and ran Fat Andy’s Hardwoods in North Yarmouth from 1991 to 2017. He has lived in town for 32 years and raised his three children there. He previously served on the Select Board, the Economic and Sustainability Committee, the Ad Hoc Town Hall Renovation Committee and the Ad Hoc Solar Committee. Walsh is also serving his second term as North Yarmouth’s trustee on the Yarmouth Water District. He holds a bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of Washington.
In addition to her time on the Budget Committee, Hamlin served on the Select Board from 2011 to 2014. She studied accounting and business law at Husson College and is the president and co-founder of a consulting firm that sells software to nonprofits. She has four children and has lived in North Yarmouth for about 25 years.
Godsoe and his wife have one child and have lived in North Yarmouth for almost 30 years. He spent nine years on the board of directors for the nonprofit Avesta Housing, two as chairperson. He has a degree in economics from Colby College.
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