Wayland Officials Appoint Five to Audit Committee

Wayland's Board of Selectmen, School Committee and Finance Committee met in a joint meeting Monday to interview seven candidates who threw their resumes in the hat for Wayland's new audit committee.

In January, the Board of Selectmen voted to establish an audit committee with the charge "to advise the Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee and town management including the Town Administrator, Finance Director/Town Accountant and Town Treasurer with respect to the town’s internal auditing, financial systems and internal controls, and independent annual audit."

The resolution to form the committee calls for initial committee members to serve for various terms, ranging from one year to three years.

After interviewing Tony Boschetto, Donna Bouchard, Christopher Cullen, Gordon Cliff, Ben Downs, Frank Krasin and Chris Riley, Board of Selectmen member Ed Collins proposed increasing the size of the audit committee to allow all seven candidates to serve.

“I think any of them is immenently qualified," Collins said. "Rather than lose two people … who all have expressed an interest in serving the town. I think it would, in a sense, be bordering on folly to let them go.”

Selectman Doug Leard agreed with Collins' proposal, but board members Steve Correia, Joe Nolan and Chair John Bladon disagreed and the amendment failed.

The three appointing boards split up after the interviews and discussed, among themselves, the individuals they wanted to appoint to the audit committee. By the end of the evening, the new committee had been named.

The appointments include:

• Tony Boschetto (appointed by the School Committee) - 1-year term.
• Christopher Cullen (appointed by the Board of Selectmen) - 1-year term.
• Gordon Cliff (appointed by the Finance Committee) - 2-year term.
• Ben Downs (appointed by the Board of Selectmen) - 2-year term.
• Christopher Riley (appointed by the Board of Selectmen) - 3-year term.

All terms will expire on June 30 of the appropriate year, beginning with the one-year terms expiring on June 30, 2013.