As chair of the board of selectmen, Stephen MacCleery’s hopes to retain his seat for another three years. Matthew Stolnis thinks its time for a fresh set of eyes to look at the town budget and the impact of taxes on residents.

Ahead of Chichester’s town election on Tuesday, the Monitor spoke to both candidates to learn more about their backgrounds, why they’re running, and what they hope to accomplish.

Stephen MacCleery is the current chair of the Board of Selectmen. Prior to his current term, he served two terms in the early 2000s. He has lived in Chichester most of his life and, for over 50 years, has been running the farm his family bought back in 1943, producing and selling hay for livestock.

“I’m running for re-election to the Board of Selectmen to continue to serve our town, as I have done for almost 40 years, on most every board and numerous committees for both the town and our school,” MacCleery said. “Jobs need to be done. I volunteer to do them.”

Matthew Stolnis has lived in Chichester for seven years. He has a background in identity management, cyber security and solutions development. He has also serves as a firefighter and EMT in the area and will be attending paramedic school starting next month. He says he’s running because he disagrees with how the current board is operating and wants to bring more accountability to the board.

“I look at it as a service position,” Stolnis said. “Board of Selectmen is service to the community. Period. That’s it. It’s not service to me. It does me no good. I’m a very private person. I don’t like to be in the public eye more than I have to, but I’ll do it because I believe it’s the best thing for our community.”

 MacCleery hopes to continue the work he’s already been doing over the course of three terms. He mentioned feeling proud of getting the town to adopt a purchasing policy for the bidding process.

“I’d like to continue to try to do what town meeting tells us to do, or ultimately dealing with day to day issues for town meeting,” MacCleery said. “Town meeting tells us – the legislative body – tells us what they want done,”

Article continues after...

Yesterday's Most Read Articles

‘There was no oversight’: NH child advocate has been a watchdog for children's care. Now, the office is on the chopping block

Volunteer group wants to help homeless clean up their camp

‘Less finger pointing, more communication’: Longtime Chichester residents share hopes before second town meeting

Casella Waste Systems’ landfill project in New Hampshire’s North Country denied permit

New Healthy Buffalo owner to build market in Chichester

‘It’s everything’: In largest rally yet, Trump protestors descend on Concord

Your Daily Puzzles

Cross|Word

Flipart

Typeshift

SpellTower

Really Bad Chess

Beyond being actively involved in town matters and holding the board accountable for its decisions, Stolnis wants to work on addressing town finances.

“Our budget is a little out of control,” he said. 

MacCleery, too, wants to devote time to the town’s budget.

“I want to continue trying to keep the budget as low as possible while still providing necessary services,” MacCleery said.

Stolnis finds that high taxes make life more challenging for residents and would like to address this.

“When you start to create a tax base that drives the people who have been here a longer time out because they can’t afford to pay the tax anymore, to me, that’s absolutely despicable,” Stolnis said. “They’re working within the budget that they’re given, but I also think that they’ve made some interesting choices lately on what they’ve done.”

SPENDING: If the town’s operating budget and all the warrant articles pass, residents face an approximate tax rate of $4.18 tax rate per $1,000 in property valuation, meaning $1,672 in taxes on a home worth $400,000. If the school’s operating budget and warrant articles pass, the school tax rate will be $12.11 per $1,000 in property valuation, meaning $4,844 in property taxes on a $400,000 home. The town’s 2024 tax rate was $17.33. If everything passes at the town and school meetings, the 2025 tax rate would be $16.29.

HOT TOPIC: The town’s warrant contains an art icle that, if passed, would grant the board of selectmen the power to hire firefighters upon the recommendation of the fire chief, who currently can hire firefighters without board approval.

WHEN AND WHERE: Town elections will take place on Tuesday, March 11 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Grange Hall. The school district meeting will be held on Saturay, March 8 at 9 a.m. at Chichester Central School, with the town meeting happening the next Saturday, March 15 at the same time and place.

For more information, visit chichesternh.org