Arlington Finance Committee Announces New Leadership

ARLINGTON, MA — The Arlington Finance Committee has voted in a new leadership team for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The officers elected were Christine Deshler, Chair, along with Darrel Harmer, Annie LaCourt, and Alan Jones, Vice-Chairs.

“It has been an honor to serve the Finance Committee as Chair for the past two years,” said former Finance Committee Chair Charles Foskett. "I am inspired by the professionalism and experience of the Committee’s new leadership team."

Deshler has served as a Vice-Chair of the Committee since 2017 and as a member since 2008. She has been a Town Meeting Member since 1994 and is a past member and chair of the Arlington Human Rights Commission, in addition to serving on several other Town boards. She is a member of the Massachusetts bar and is currently the Director of the Attorney and Consumer Assistance Program of the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers, Office of the Bar Counsel. Previously, she was a litigator and appellate lawyer for both public and private businesses and organizations.

“I am honored to be selected this new role; it comes with a great deal of responsibility,” Deshler said in a statement. "With the energy and experience of our Vice-Chairs and other members of the Committee I am looking forward to working with Town and School management and Town Meeting to help insure Arlington’s fiscal stability in the years ahead.”

Harmer is a certified senior project manager with over 30 years in information technology. In past roles, he has served as the Commonwealth Chief Information Officer, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services Chief Information Officer, and managed the Commonwealth’s IT Capital program. He currently provides IT project management for the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Harmer has been a member of Arlington’s Finance Committee since December 2015 and recently joined the Capital Planning Committee as the Finance Committee’s designee.

LaCourt has been a member of the Finance Committee since 2018, a Town Meeting Member since 2000, and served on the Select Board from 2005 to 2012. She has been Treasurer of the Arlington Education Association and VP of Finance for Temple Shir Tikvah in Winchester, MA. For the past 25 years, LaCourt has been a professional designer and consultant in the information technology industry, serving leadership roles in Narrow Bridge Consulting, the Housing Partnership Network, YouthBuild USA, and the Boston Private Industry Council.

Jones is a retired computer designer and is now attempting to retire again from a second career in small business IT consulting and web design. His interests include gardening, woodworking, hobby electronics, audio engineering, music and the Welsh language. Jones has been a member of the Finance Committee and Town Meeting for more than two decades. He is also active in the Arlington Historical Society, Robbins Farm Cooperative Garden, and the Mystic Valley Lodge of Freemasons.

For more information on Arlington’s Finance Committee, click here.