The crushing cost of living and a looming $300 million wastewater bill took center stage at the Harwich Community Center during a Selectboard candidate forum on May 15. Candidates Mark Kelleher, a current Finance Committee member, and Katie, a local business strategist, laid out divergent visions for addressing the town’s fiscal and housing pressures as the May 20 election approaches. The discussion highlighted a town at a crossroads, struggling to retain both young professionals and municipal staff amidst a widening economic gap.

Katie grounded the housing debate in personal terms, sharing her experience as a 36-year-old business owner forced to live with her parents. She noted that the few available rentals in town for a single person with a dog range from $3,500 to $4,200 per month. We need to make it easier for young folks to live in this town, Katie said, noting that even local doctors are struggling to stay. Our elders [need] the continuity of care of having a doctor who can afford to live here. She advocated for zoning changes to allow more accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and suggested the town hire a professional grant writer, citing examples where such positions brought in $2 million in annual revenue for other municipalities.

Kelleher, leveraging his experience on the Capital Outlay and Finance committees, focused heavily on the long-term financial burden of the Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan. Wastewater is a large financial burden that is hanging over our heads. It’s $300 million over the next 20 or 30 years, Kelleher said. I want to work at trying to figure out how we’re going to pay for that so we can still make needed investments in our staff and in our town. Kelleher also identified the Monomoy Regional School District funding formula as a primary target for reform, seeking an assessment change that would provide Harwich with more equitable financial standing compared to Chatham.

Staffing shortages and town hall turnover emerged as another critical concern. Both candidates acknowledged that Harwich is currently one of the lowest-paying towns in the region, which has led to a cycle of administrative instability. Katie pointed to the police department as a prime example of the cost of understaffing, noting that three vacancies have forced the town to spend $600,000 annually in overtime. People do not leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers, she said, urging the town to hire an emotionally intelligent town administrator. Kelleher agreed on the need for competitive pay, stating, I believe you have to pay fairly to get good service. I don’t want them to think that we don’t care about them, and one way that you show that you care about them is pay them a fair wage.

Regarding the upcoming search for a permanent Town Administrator following Joseph Powers' scheduled departure in June, both candidates expressed confidence in Assistant Town Administrator Megan Eldridge. Kelleher described her as calm, cool, and collected, suggesting she could serve as a stable interim leader to allow the town time for a thorough search. On environmental issues, the candidates remained cautious but supportive of nitrogen controls. Kelleher, a commercial shellfisherman, noted his support for the Finance Committee’s previous stance in favor of fertilizer and pesticide bylaws, arguing that it makes little sense to spend hundreds of millions on wastewater while continuing to add nitrogen to the soil.

The forum concluded with a discussion on untapped revenue, where Kelleher suggested looking toward the town disposal area’s 150 acres for light industrial use or solar arrays to bolster the town's financial shape without increasing the tax burden on residents. While no formal motions were made during the forum, the session outlined a clear mandate for the next Selectboard member: balancing the town's historic character with the aggressive infrastructure and personnel investments required to keep Harwich functional.