Nestler Hopes to Bring 'Impactful' New Voice to Board of Selectmen

As the chair of Easton's Finance Committee, Carol Nestler is one of Easton's most involved citizens when it comes to town government.

So, it might be hard to believe that town politics didn't always interest her.

"I got interested in politics a little bit later in life," she said. "I didn’t really pay attention a lot of the time but I think your life situation changes sometimes. When you’re married and have kids you pay more attention."

Nestler has been a member of the finance committee since 2009. Now, she is looking to step up and take a seat on the board of selectmen. Coincidentally, one of the people she hopes to replace is the same person who got her involved.

Sean Noonan will be leaving the board this year along with Ellen Barlow. When Noonan was a member of Easton's Finance Committee, he convinced Nestler to join.

As the only candidate, Nestler easily stepped into the role.

"He knew I had an accounting and finance background so he thought I might be interested," she said. "I like to jokingly say I was unanimously voted in by both the board of selectmen and finance committee."

This year, the town voters will decide her fate in regards to the Board of Selectmen on April 30. She joins local activist Dottie Fulginiti, planning board member Dan Smith and local lawyer and capital planning committee member Michael Maloney in a race for two seats.

Nestler is a local accountant with two children in Easton Public Schools. Both she and her husband are small business owners.

As a member of the finance committee for four years and the chair for the last two, she has dealt in depth with the town's operating budget.

One of her top priorities, she said, is ensuring police and fire are fully staffed and equipped.

"There are a few issues I’ve gotten pretty passionate about," she said. "One of them is public safety. I want to ensure those departments are fully staffed. I know we’ve been working on it but we’re certainly not there yet."

"It’s one of those areas where until there’s a crisis, you feel like you can get by. We’ve been fortunate that there hasn’t been a crisis but I would hate to be in that situation."

She said as a selectmen, she hopes to find opportunities to save money and improve efficiency in town government.

While she said she tends to look at numbers first, she understands that there are quality of life issues and a balance often needs to be struck.

She recommended thinking outside the box to fund some of the town's ventures.

When reviewing the council on aging's budget, she considered different options.

"I have asked – have you ever gone out to any of the businesses?" she said. "Because we’re using the council on aging van and we’re driving people to Roche Brothers, driving people to Hannafords and driving people to CVS. Have we ever reached out to any of those businesses as a sponsorship to help people pay for some of that stuff since they’re also benefiting?"

Communication between boards and committees is another area she has dealt with first-hand.

"There’s definitely been some tensions between the committees in terms of finance committee will receive a warrant and we may not approve it - and the problem is the other committee has been working on the warrant for two years and we knew nothing about it until right before town meeting," she said. "We’re expected to get all of the financial information and make an educated decision when we’re just getting it. So, lots of times when things happen, we don’t have enough time or enough information."

In addition to improving communication between boards, she hopes to create more communication between the town government and town meeting voters. Information disseminated before town meeting similar to the state's ballot question information would be helpful, she said.

Nestler said she is not the type of person who holds back from saying what she thinks, and becoming a member of the Board of Selectmen would be no different.

At Finance Committee Meetings, she enjoys open discussions and she hopes to bring more of an openness to the selectmen.

"I like to hear other people’s ideas - other people’s opinions," she said. "We all kind of form an opinion when we hear something and without the option of having an open discussion, we may keep that opinion and that opinion might not necessarily be the right one."

As a member of the finance committee, Nestler voted against the town's Shovel Shop project - a public/private development with Beacon Communities LLC that will bring 113 units to town.

She said the development will drain the town's resources.

"Now we’re in a situation where we’re already straining our budget trying to keep our schools staffed and our police and fire staffed, and now for the next 10 years we’re going to have an influx of people in the area and no additional revenues for it," she said. "That puts quite a strain on the budget in my opinion."

She also opposes the South Coast Rail, which would bring a commuter train through Easton that connects Boston to New Bedford and Fall River.

She agrees, however, with the town's decision to mitigate the effects of the train.

Nestler credited the town with working its way out of the recent recession - including efforts to put pieces in place like the Capital Stabilization Fund.

"I think the town management – [town administrator] David Colton and the board of selectmen – have done a really good job managing the finances," she said. "We’ve had limited layoffs. We’ve have limited cuts in services, so I think they have done a good job in that."

She hopes, however, she can bring a new and different voice to the board.

"Finance Committee is a lot like being an accountant in that you see things historically almost after the fact," she said. "I just feel I can be a lot more impactful before the fact – maybe ask some different financial questions than are currently being asked. I’m certainly not saying anybody is doing a bad job. I think the town has managed very well and I think people work very hard. There’s a lot of really dedicated employees and public servants. There’s just some areas that I feel like there’s some opportunities."

This is the third in a four-part series profiling all of the candidates for the board of selectmen. To read about Dottie Fulginiti, click here. To read about Dan Smith, click here. Check back with Patch to read about Michael Maloney.