NEED A YARD SIGN!?!? - Text (508)591-5090
★
NEED A YARD SIGN!?!? - Text (508)591-5090 ★
★ Marine Veteran • Father • Proven Leader
RICK
SMITH
For Marshfield Select Board
I'm a Marine combat veteran, business leader, and proud Marshfield dad. I served in Iraq as a combat infantry advisor in Fallujah and Mosul, two of the most contested battlegrounds of the war. I came home with an unshakable belief that service doesn't end when the uniform comes off.
In my professional career, I've led large-scale teams and managed multimillion-dollar budgets across the energy and environmental sectors. Work that demands precision, accountability, and results. I brought that same discipline to Marshfield's Advisory Board, where I fought for greater transparency and tighter fiscal responsibility with every dollar of taxpayer money.
My wife, Jenn, and I are raising our two children in Marshfield's public schools. This town isn't just where we live. It's what we're building for our kids and yours. I'm running to make sure Marshfield stays a place every family is proud to call home.
Proven Leadership to Move Marshfield Forward!
Paid for by the Committee to Elect Richard Smith
—RICK ON THE ISSUES
RICK ON THE ISSUES!
💰
VALUE FOR EVERY DOLLAR
Marshfield faces a number of financial challenges including an aging infrastructure, funding for a new vocational tech high school, pension liabilities, all while the overall cost of services is increasing. It's my opinion that the Select Board hasn't spent the time necessary to scrutinize the town budget and make recommendations that will allow us to continue to grow and prosper.
The town of Marshfield is a big business with a $120 million budget and 1,500 employees. As an executive, I have been responsible for solving complex problems involving hundreds of millions of dollars. I've worked with large departments and across multiple departments to bring people together to deliver real results. I want to do the same for our town.
🗳️
SERVING AS YOUR VOICE
What are the priorities of the Select Board? What is our strategy to build a fiscal plan with strong revenue and fiscal discipline, to deal with overdevelopment, to make our community more walkable and to update our aging infrastructure?
To be effective, our board needs more than good intentions. As a member of the board, I will work to establish a clear list of priorities and make those things that are important to you a priority of the Select Board. I will also make sure that before decisions are made, people from all of our neighborhoods get a chance to be heard and weigh-in.
🌳
PROTECTING THE TOWN'S CHARACTER
Growth, when properly managed and planned for is a good thing. Unfortunately, constant development has brought with it hidden costs and consequences. Marshfield shouldn't be a place just for commuters to hang their hat. It needs to be a community of families who love living here because of who we are and what we have to offer.
As a member of the board, I'll work to improve walkability and improve community signage that celebrates our town's history and spirit. I'll fight to prioritize funds to purchase land which can be preserved for open space allowing our community to breathe. I'll also work with other town boards to ensure that we have a strategy for limited development that doesn't overwhelm city services.
— RICK ON THE TOWN'S FINANCIAL CRISIS
IT DIDN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY
BACKGROUND
It is the responsibility of the town's Select Board to provide active guidance and direction in the town's $120M+ a year budget.
The major financial challenges for Marshfield have been called out by the Marshfield Advisory Board and two talented interim town administrators for more than 9 months, with little to no pro-active action by the Select Board.
As chair of the town's Advisory Board in March 2025, Rick called on the Select Board to create a five-year financial plan. Rick also called on the town to start the budgeting process as soon as possible to give the town maximum flexibility, opportunity for collaboration, and transparency.
Three days before Christmas, the interim town administrator produced the first five-year forecast the town has had in years, which clearly showed a financial crisis that will be felt by all residents.
WHERE DO WE STAND?
The five-year forecast shows that for the next year, there may be a $4.5M+ shortfall that may require deep cuts in town services and/or an increase in property taxes.
This deficit does NOT include anticipated employee raises subject to negotiations, which, along with final state aid numbers, could increase the projected deficit to $6 million.
Instead of meeting with the School Committee and working collaboratively on the financial challenges that lie ahead, the Select Board leadership has extended criticism instead of partnership.
Towns across Massachusetts are facing similar challenges, with many of them already having had serious conversations and made decisions to reduce the impact on the people in their community.
$4.5 M+
Projected Budget Shortfall For Next Year
$120 M+
Annual Town Budget That Needs Oversight
9+
Months of Warnings Ignored by the Select Board
MARSHFIELD NEEDS PROVEN LEADERSHIP AND A STRATEGY TO DEAL WITH THE FINANCIAL CRISIS
“Marshfield is facing a financial crisis that requires strong professional leadership, a real strategy, and collaboration between all the town's partners. Unfortunately, the Select Board has taken a head-in-the-sand approach to what should have been an urgent, full-court press on its core responsibility to anticipate and prepare for the crisis. By not planning and taking early steps, the board has risked limiting the town's options and now we must act with urgency to prevent very painful cuts.”
“The Select Board shouldn't be twiddling its thumbs allowing a difficult fiscal situation to become a crisis. The board shouldn't be pointing the finger at the school system without ever having met with the School Committee to discuss how best to move forward.”
“This crisis can't be solved by ignoring it or trying to blame someone else for the problems. Marshfield needs a Select Board with the experience, skills, and leadership to roll-up their sleeves long before someone comes to shut off the lights.”
“We need a 'whole of government' approach that pulls together designated members from the Select Board, the School Committee, Board of Public Works, the town finance team and the Advisory Board. Our residents expect and deserve it.”
WE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!
WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN PREPARED!
How Do We Fix This Financial Mess?
"When I campaign door-to-door, almost everybody I meet asks the same question."
As your next Select Board member, I'm committed to using my private sector experience managing over $100 million budgets to get Marshfield on a sound fiscal footing. Here's my plan:
1
PROTECT ESSENTIAL SERVICES
Every child deserves an excellent public education. Everyone in Marshfield should know that when they call 911 - whether for a crime, a fire, or a medical emergency - help will arrive quickly. Instead of laying off essential workers or closing schools, we need to find efficiencies and raise non-tax revenue.
2
VALUE OUR TOWN EMPLOYEES
Town workers aren't just items in a spreadsheet - they're our friends and neighbors who work hard, and in some cases risk their lives, to serve our community. We need to protect their jobs by saving every possible dollar elsewhere.
3
COMPREHENSIVE TOP-TO-BOTTOM AUDIT
My first action as a Select Board member is a full audit of Town Hall, our budget, our adherence to our own financial policies, best practices, and standards for municipal finance. We need to know where every dollar is going, how it's spent, and where we can find savings. I'll push for cost-cutting measures and make sure our next Town Administrator shares that vision.
4
WEEKLY SELECT BOARD MEETING
As a Select Board member, I will push for weekly meetings, not biweekly, not monthly. Weekly.
Each meeting will include: Budget and project updates, so residents know exactly where their tax dollars are going
SOME POTENTIAL COST-SAVING MEASURES
Renegotiate third-party contracts to get better rates or put them back out to bid and look for bulk purchasing opportunities
Get better terms on our pension liabilities
Negotiate better healthcare rates with our insurer
Strict limits on annual spending increases across every department
"We don't need a Select Board that just knows how to say yes or say no; we need a board that knows how to do more with less and get results. The buck stops with the Select Board."
— ABOUT RICK
JOIN ME IN MOVING
MARSHFIELD FORWARD!
I'm a Marine combat veteran, business leader, and proud Marshfield dad. I served in Iraq as a combat infantry advisor in Fallujah and Mosul, two of the most contested battlegrounds of the war. I came home with an unshakable belief that service doesn't end when the uniform comes off.
In my professional career, I've led large-scale teams and managed multimillion-dollar budgets across the energy and environmental sectors. Work that demands precision, accountability, and results. I brought that same discipline to Marshfield's Advisory Board, where I fought for greater transparency and tighter fiscal responsibility with every dollar of taxpayer money.
My wife, Jenn, and I are raising our two children in Marshfield's public schools. This town isn't just where we live. It's what we're building for our kids and yours. I'm running to make sure Marshfield stays a place every family is proud to call home.
U.S. Marine Veteran
Combat Military Advisor — Fallujah & Mosul
🏛
Advisory Board Chair
Town of Marshfield
📊
Executive Leader
Multimillion-Dollar Budget Management
🏠
Marshfield Dad Public
Parent
School Parent
★ Marine Veteran • Father • Proven Leader
GET IN TOUCH WITH RICK!
★ Marine Veteran • Father • Proven Leader
