The race for a seat on the Salisbury Board of Selectmen includes two longtime town residents in the small town of 1,400 people and a man neither of them had ever heard of before.
Incumbent James Hoyt, 59, will face off against challengers Rose Fife and Dobroslav Slavenskoj for a three-year seat on the board.
Hoyt, who is finishing his second term on the board, believes the town has made strides taking care of overdue projects, like maintenance at town hall, while keeping spending in check.
“The town is running smooth. Things are getting done,” he said. “We’re putting money away for the things we need.”
Hoyt, currently the chair of the board, is a lifelong resident of the town who takes pride in volunteering at the Salisbury Woods Haunted Barn and Trail, helping to put on the fireworks show at Old Home Days each year and donating to charity.
As the owner of Countryside Builders, he hopes to lend his skills to a future project to build a new highway garage. He hopes to appoint a committee to oversee the project on land the town plans to purchase and design the right-sized facility.
“We don’t a $1.4 million building. This town can’t afford that,” he said. “I want to make sure we get what we need and don’t overpay for it.”
He’s proud of his work bringing the internet to families on North Road and would like to see more people step up to fill vacant positions in town government.
“It’s very important what happens in this town to me personally,” he said.
For Fife, 59, who has had a long career working in government, including as the building inspector in Concord, the board of selectmen needs new blood.
“It’s time to change things up a little bit,” she said.
After attending a few meetings, she said she’d like to see more transparency to help residents understand what’s happening in town government.
She mentioned the plans to buy land and build a highway garage as examples.
“I think a lot of people in town don’t know we don’t own it,” she said of the land.
Fife said she didn’t have an agenda, but rather a desire to help the town where she’s lived for 34 years and see if she can save the taxpayers some money.
“I want to be of service to my community because it’s been so good to me,” she said. “Hopefully, they’re going to look at this as an opportunity for change and lend a helping hand.”
The third candidate, Slavenskoj, works in the Information Technology field and did not return requests for comment. In the 2024 town election, he received three write-in votes, one for library trustee, one for zoning board of adjustment and one for planning board, which is the same amount of write-in votes received by Obi-Wan Kenobi for the same position.
Hot topic: A pair of large transfers to capital reserve funds could raise the tax rate in town by more than $1. If both pass, a warrant article to transfer $100,000 to the Fire Rescue & Emergency Services Equipment Capital Reserve Fund (40 cent tax impact) and another $161,871 to the Highway Equipment Capital Reserve Fund for future purchases (65 cent tax impact) would add about $400 to the annual tax bill of a home worth $400,000.
Budget: The town budget of $1,791,980 represents a 16% increase over last year’s proposed budget of $1,538,857, with expenditures going up for highway maintenance and contracted hauling fees at the transfer station.
Noteworthy articles: Like some other towns, Salisbury voters will be asked to add their voice to the state’s Education Freedom Account program, which allows families to use state money to pay for private or homeschooling education expenses. Residents will be asked specifically to “call on our state elected officials to uphold their duty to fiscal responsibility by rejecting any expansion of taxpayer funding for private education until we have full accountability, transparency and a sustainable funding plan that ensures no further strain on public schools or local property taxpayers.”
When and where: Voting on Town Meeting day, March 11 will take place from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 645 Old Turnpike Road. The town’s traditional meeting will be held immediately after polls close at 7 p.m.
Jonathan Van Fleet