YORK, Maine — Current town Treasurer Lawrence Graves has decided not to run, and now two seek to fill his three-year seat. They are Kenneth Churchill and Nancy Graves, Lawrence Graves’ sister.

Nan Graves

Age:

Address: Mill Lane

Occupation: Retired

Education: BS, Business Administration, UNH; MS Ed., University of New England

Public service: Budget committee 7 years (4 as chair), Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee, York Land Trust

1. Why do you want to be the York treasurer?

I want to bring transparency and clarity to this important role, ensure that the townspeople understand what bonding means and how it affects their taxes, continue to provide appropriate oversight to make sure that we keep a favorable bond rating and ensure the security of payments and the town's bank accounts, and maintain collaborative and effective interactions with elected officials and town staff.

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2. What do you see as the main challenges of serving as treasurer and how do you plan to approach them?

At some point, we will have to move to electronic payment systems and it will be critical to ensure that those systems are secure and accurate. This will involve coordination with the town's finance director, in partnership with the school's finance department.

As interest rates change, the town may have to adjust bonding (borrowing) strategies, so it will be important to work with the elected boards so that they, and the townspeople, can make informed decisions on how to best move forward.

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3. As treasurer, from whom will you seek advice or input in weighing key decisions?

The town manager, town finance director, the school business manager, along with bond counsel will be key sources of information. In addition, maintaining a good working relationship with the Selectboard, Budget Committee, and School Committee will also be important to me in order to stay up to date on the financial strategies that they may wish to pursue.

Editor’s note: Kenneth Churchill did not respond to the York Weekly candidate questionnaire.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: York election 2022: Two-way race for town treasurer