The deteriorating culture of discourse in Westport has taken its toll. This morning, Brian Stern resigned from the Board of Finance.
He is a year away from completing his 4th term. He served as chair from 2014 to 2022.
Stern moved to Westport in 1977. He spent 40 years with Xerox. Since 2008, he has been an entrepreneur.
His letter to Town Clerk Jeffrey Dunkerton said:
After considerable thought, I’m writing to tender my resignation from the Westport Board of Finance, effective immediately.
As you know, I’ve been active in Westport town affairs for more than 15 years. I hope to have had a positive impact on our community. With my fellow board members, many important projects have been completed, processes for moving forward have been developed, significant problems have been solved, reasonable budgets approved and, in the process many good friendships have been made.
Brian Stern
I’ve made this painful decision in advance of the completion of my elected term. In the past, my work on the Board has been made easy by colleagues. They have been cooperative and constructive.
Information and analysis flowed freely without bias and free from pre-determined conclusions. Decisions were made with open access to the all the facts and with folks genuinely listening to each other.
Yes, we made some errors, hopefully small, but I believe the record shows a sustained period of wise fiscal governance. As a result, I think Westport taxpayers have been well served.
But the environment of openness in the town that allowed for that constructive work has changed. The collegial management and governance culture has evolved for the worse. Finger pointing, personal animosities, habitual complaining, data replaced by anecdote and decisions by crowd noise have become the norm.
Working in this environment has made my individual effort far more difficult and professionally frustrating. I prefer to refrain from giving specific examples.
This document is not the place for that and would likely make matters even worse. However, in the interest of righting the ship, I’d be delighted to constructively discuss these issues in private.
On a personal note, my sincere thanks to all the staff and colleagues (particularly Lee Caney), who have worked with me over many years to serve our wonderful town.
I served for two and half years on the Board of Finance under Brian’s leadership. Westport is losing an incredibly dedicated and talented supporter.
Brian, please reconsider as your help on the Long Lots program would be invaluable.
Thomas Orofino
A real loss for Westport. Let us hope the underlying problems
abate. We need to return to the just plain discourse.
Brian, Thank you for your service and dedication to our town. Wishing enjoyment in your next chapter of volunteering.
Brian you are a true gentleman and have been a valuable servant of the town. We did not always agree but I always respected your opinions. I wish more would think about the dedication and time put forth by the volunteers on boards and commissions. I empathize with your position and decision but more importantly know you gave it your all. Good luck Brian
A very sad day for Westport. Brian Stern has been a beacon of light in town government, and a fiscal watchdog for every taxpayer. This is a stunning loss to the Westport electorate.
He fought hard for the build of the new school and against the division, delays, and special interests. He stood up to the bullies and put the best interest of the children first and foremost.
I wonder ehy he resigned Toni.
It is indeed a sad situation.
Godspeed thank you for your service
Brian you will be missed I loved working with you on rtm side and you Alway pick up the phone you will Deff be missed in Westport thanks Brian for your service to the town of Westport
I have had the good fortune to work with Brian to get Riverside Park cleaned up over a 5 year span. Today, we have a beautiful park that wouldn’t have been improved without his support. Our taxes have remained relatively flat for the past ten years due to the joint efforts of Town Administration, Department Heads, Board of Finance and the RTM. Good governance has made that happen, but it is getting mean and ugly here in Westport. As Brian said to me the other night, we should be celebrating building a new school for our children instead of fighting with one another.
Now you can relax and enjoy retirement Brian, but stay involved.
Brian, thank you for your service to our town. All the best with your next adventure(s).
Brian, I am a random Westporter who has listened to and/or attended several BoF meetings over the last 7+ years. Your leadership has been the most excellent of any board or committee meeting I have ever watched. You consistently asked the questions I had in mind, and the ones not top of mind that made me explore different perspectives. Thank you, for both your thoughtful stewardship of our town’s finances and for the levelheaded, smart, and data-driven discussions you facilitated. You will be missed.
Brian,
It is sad to see your well thought out reasoning for resigning after your many appreciated years of service for our town of Westport. I remember during our years in the 70’s working for the same oil company that you were regarded as an extremely diligent person of the most respected integrity. Thank you Brian for all your leadership skills for Westport these many years. Hope to see you in our mutual paths of Westport.
What a loss for Westport! Brian you have been an exacting, thoughtful and effetive leader. You have been uniquely responsible for investments in town assets while keeping our tax rate steady. Your talent and dedication are unmatched. I am sad to see you leave the BOF.
I started going to meetings in 2016 and one of the first was Board of Finance. Entering room 201, everyone had their particular seats, and I was just starting out before running for RTM.
Brian had a way of explaining things that everyone understood, but NO one else had said. And I never got tired of listening to his explanations, no matter how long they were because it was so necessary.
Honest, I found BOF meetings to be extremely relaxing and educational. I’ll miss your presence and contributions to the town, even if we didn’t always agree.
Westport’s loss. Thank you, Brian, for your years of dedication and service. I no longer live in Westport, but I hope all of you somehow manage to find a capable and open minded replacement.
As someone who’s not in the weeds on town governance, what exactly is the author referring to and who is responsible? I understand the reluctance to call people or groups out individually, but as a resident and voter it’s really critical information to know who exactly is driving longtime public servants out of office. Is this about Long Lots parents? Community gardeners? The board of ed? The first selectperson? This cryptic message raises more questions than answers.
Huge loss for the town. Hope his replacement is as smart and dedicated as Brian.
This is a loss. Brian you always had a strong grip on things and were a voice to listen to. Sorry to see you go. Take a breath and see what you might do in another area of the town.
Just in this past RTM meeting a number of members said we now wonder if all the name calling and finger pointing would dissuade people from volunteering for office. I never thought someone would quit. And here we are.
Brian – Your seat will be filled but you are irreplaceable. We miss you already.
Not good news 🧨
This is a huge loss to the town. Brian, your unbiased and analytical leadership (augmented by humor and conviviality) will be sorely missed. All the best in your next steps!
Shame on us, Westport!
Brian Stern is smart, dedicated and professional. We felt reassured with him in a leadership position in our town. Thank you, Brian, for all the hours you volunteered to Westport. You will be missed. We apologize for the inappropriate discourse and appalling behavior of some of our fellow Westporters.
Bob and Liz Blasko
Thank you Brian. You have always been a breath of fresh air to the discussions.
Your comments are sad to read. I had hoped Westport had avoided the rancor of the national level. I guess I was wrong. Sad
A huge loss for Westport. Brian was the perpetual guiding light for common sense decisions. The examples of his frustration could be seen on a regular basis as he diligently and patiently attempted to work within a difunctional environment. Remember the P & Z resignations a few years back. sounds and look so familiar
Brian, you have always been a light for Westport. I wish you the best in your next chapter of not being on the board. And I wish we could have celebrated this moment in a different way.
An enormous loss for Westport. All your points are valid. Wishing you only the best. And thank you for all that you have done
Brian Stern on the Westport Bd of Finance was a small part of wanting to move back. If you read the prior comments, you can see how respected even when differing, Brian Stern has been in this disfinctioning world we live in. Trust me, Westporters, you will miss his guidance thru all the future projects!!
Thank you Brian for your service and leadership! You are a true gentleman and a wonderful resident who has made many positive impacts to our community.
A huge loss for Westport. You are a class act. Your commentary last week at the BoF about Town priorities was spot on! Every resident should you go and listen. We needed you at the table to have that debate in full (see link below). You have been fun to work with over many years and I have always enjoyed our conversations. I enjoyed your incoming calls and every time you were looking for solutions. You always kept the lines of communications open and we can all learn from that.
You made us all better. You made Westport better.
Watch Brian’s last comments at the BOF last week (start at minute 19.5) https://play.champds.com/westportct/event/476
Thank you, Brian for all your unselfish years of dedicated service to Westport. We will all miss your wisdom, wit and drive to get to the bottom number.
Thank you for your service, Brian. We will miss you !
Brian, thank you. In all our interactions and conversations over many years you were always focused on making Westport a better place. Do not forget that you have done that.
Brian’s departure is a true loss for the Town of Westport. We celebrate his years of devoted and unrivaled service to our community, and look forward to Brian’s future in town and with the Democratic Party.
I ask everyone who has read Brian’s resignation to remember we are a family; And although families disagree, they treat each other with dignity, respect, and an open mind. We enjoy that culture of family in the Westport DTC elected body, but we are losing our way as a town – as neighbors. When we mistreat each other, and when we fail to understand and accept the views and feelings of our neighbors (partisan and non-partisan), we risk losing our finest leaders.
I look forward to Brian’s future service, and implore everyone to read the comments celebrating his thoughtful service as a model to how we treat and engage with our fellow members of the Westport family, regardless of party affiliation or local positions. Brian, you will be deeply missed on the Board of Finance, but I look forward to working with you in future.
Sincerely,
Michelle Mechanic
DTC Chair
Thank you, Brian, for your incredible service to our town. Your departure from the BOF is a huge loss for all of Westport. I I’d like to remind everyone that you and all the board members are volunteers. The countless hours you all work to keep our town running smoothly is truly a gift.
Thank you again.
Brian’s intelligence, goodwill, deep and broad knowledge of Westport’s financial and operational structures, and his ability to see through momentary fog to the longterm effects of actions have been crucial to out town. His resignation is our loss. The problems he mentions are truly troubling and must be addressed for us to move ahead.
Yes Wendy the problems he mentions in my view relate to the continued lack of transparency and the way in which this town is being governed.
Let’s not mistake this for the social media interactions.
The problems such as the RTM not following the charter are incredibly concerning !
Too many examples to mention.
And volunteers or not.
If folk don’t want to respect the charter, then please don’t
Volunteer !