04/28/2026
"The 4-million-or-7-million-dollar tax over-ride question". Do you want a Select Board Member who "Stays in their lane."
Moderator Christine James to Rick Smith (30:46) - “How many people in the town have their eyes on the budget? I mean the Select, the Town Administrator reports to the Select Board. He’s not a town manager. There’s (sp) different committees. There’s (sp) different groups, so how, and I consider them like the board of directors. So how many people actually have their eyes on the budget constantly, and how did, may I say a screw up like this happen? How does a multi-million-dollar budget deficit happen and then the finger pointing starts? Financially to me, I sit on a Board of just a small non-profit and I can’t imagine how something like this came to be. Rick, if you could, a minute and a half, first tell me how many different people have their eyes on the budget when it’s put together, and what do you think happened.”
Rick Smith: Rick Smith goes on to talk about how many doors he’s knocked on since December and at (32:13) “How did we even get there (the massive deficit) that is the big giant 7-million-dollar, 7.4-million-dollar question. We got here from several different reasons.”
(32:57) Smith states “and number 3 is that I don’t believe that we were following best practices. Why? When I went in as the member of the advisory board and asked for a five-year forecast, I didn’t get it.”
Moderator to Smith:
“I’m going to give you 30 more seconds. How many people have the right to look at that whether it’s an advisory board, capital finance, select board, town accountant uh and any other committees I’m not aware of. How many people have the right to look at that and who was looking at it? That’s what I’m not clear about. If so many people have access to it, what’s the big surprise? How many would you say, five key people, six key people? Seven?”
(33:33) Smith: “I think the key people for sure was the Select Board and in particular the Town Administrator right. Um, and there was an awful lot of kind of holding, uh a particular bits of information, kind of tight to the chest. I’ll tell ya in one instance for example, I walked into the Town Administrators office, and asked, I said I wanna see, or I’m sorry I didn’t ask, I said, I’d like to see a forecast. I’d like to see some of this and that and what I was told was to stay within my lane. That that’s what I needed to do. To stay in my lane. So that should give you an idea.”
The Flip Flop:
The Flip:
I want to ask Mr. Smith of this as well. Are you going to apologize to residents? In a recorded Town Hall meeting, Rick Smith expressed his feelings of disappointment at Marshfield residents for not supporting MBTA Housing, stating the residents who voted "no" are doing so because they do not want people who look different and have a different bank account, and that residents want them to go live in the back woods so they can’t be seen.
The Flop:
Then in this WATD interview at (10:42) states, “We can’t be demonizing, and when we start demonizing folks, the communication stops."
Will Rick Smith apologize?
So, the 4-million-or-7-million-dollar tax over-ride question to you, Marshfield tax payer. Do you want to place Rick Smith on the Select Board, who, from this interview pretty much stated the reason why Marshfield is in this massive financial deficit. He knew back then, and did not speak up. Is that why so many big names back him? Because he stayed in his lane? He’s got a stellar resume. But he stayed in his lane.
Who didn’t stay in their lane? Eric Kelley. Trish Simpson. They asked too many questions. And that’s why the massive blowback. Trish Simpson resigned. Eric Kelley was recalled.
