Westwood Finance Committee Reelects Bruce as Chair, Eyes Return to Subcommittee Reviews

WESTWOOD — June 15, 2026 — Westwood Finance Committee unanimously reelects chair and debates restoring subcommittee structure scrapped two years ago. Bill Bruce was reelected Finance Committee chair for a third consecutive year at the panel's June 15 reorganization meeting, with 11 members voting in favor and four absent. Two new members — Simon Yang and Melinda Garfield, a former 10-year executive director of Westwood Media Center — were welcomed to the 15-member body. Town Administrator Connor Reed told the committee the Select Board is weighing whether to place a Fire Station 1 debt exclusion question on the November state midterm ballot, which would trigger a fall or special town meeting, and said a newly selected architectural firm will conduct feasibility and schematic design through summer. Members pressed Reed on the long-range capital plan, with Seth Fredrickson noting that the same commitment was made a year ago and never delivered; Reed referenced the completed Doran Whittier facilities needs report, which identified more than $100 million in town building repair needs, and said a draft multi-decade plan is targeted for fall. The committee's sharpest exchange concerned whether to restore the subcommittee budget review structure that town counsel effectively dismantled, with George Laham calling the past year's all-hands approach "exceptionally inefficient" and arguing the town "did a disservice" to the budget process.