Reading Finance Committee Interviews Seven Candidates as Override Ballot Looms

READING — June 8, 2026 — Reading Finance Committee appointment panel quizzes seven candidates as November override looms. Finance Committee Chair Joe Perna, Select Board Chair Melissa Murphy, and Town Moderator Alan Foles interviewed applicants Monday ranging from first-timers to multi-term incumbents seeking reappointment. Every candidate named Reading's anticipated Proposition 2½ override as the defining near-term challenge. Chris Good, a Massachusetts Division of Banks manager applying for the second consecutive year, urged the committee to adopt a formal policy against using free cash for operating expenses, warning that "once you use it once it just continues to grow." A retired police officer and retiree representative on the town's Public Employee Committee cited a newly negotiated health insurance agreement he said will save $3.9 million over three years. Multiple candidates called for the committee to make its budget materials more accessible to residents who are not regular meeting attendees, with several pointing to interactive open-checkbook tools used by neighboring communities.