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12/13/2017 07:30 AMAfter the November elections, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) is set for the next two years, and the three-person board’s one new member is William “Bill” Pieper, who’ll be serving in the role of second selectman. Bill plans to bring the experience from his previous role on the Board of Finance (BOF) and from his military service in addition to other public service to his new position.
An eight-year veteran of the BOF, Bill made his transition to the BOS and attended his first meeting as a selectman on Dec. 7. With the BOF, he was focused on the financial areas of the town, such as revenue and expenses, but he’s well aware there the BOS deal with a wide variety of additional issues.
“I think it’ll be an interesting learning experience for me to find out more about how town government operates and hopefully other ways that maybe I can help out as second selectman that may be somewhat different than what I’ve done as a member of the BOF,” Bill says.
Having a background in finance may be one of the ways he can help on the BOS—Bill says that a lot questions that come before the selectmen relate to resources the town has or doesn’t have. For instance, at its December meeting the BOS approved sending a $2 million bonding package for road work to a town meeting; on the BOF, he’s seen the how the town pays off bonded debts.
“I think everything kind of comes back to the finances and the fact that there are a lot of needs...I think everybody, including the town, has its own limits sometimes and we try to do the best we can with what we have,” Bill says.
He says he’ll still go to BOF meetings as often as he can, and mentioned that when he’s there he’ll probably see Third Selectman Sally Buemi, who also regularly attends BOF meetings. He appreciates her interest and involvement, and says he’ll try to do the same.
Bill, a Republican, had a good experience on the BOF. His fellow board members were great to work with regardless of what their party affiliation was, he says.
“It was a very pleasurable experience to actually volunteer my time to be on the BOF and work with the fine people that I worked with,” Bill says, adding that he thinks they had the best interest of North Haven at heart like he did.
Outside of town hall, Bill is vice-president of Pentegra Retirement Services, a company that handles pension plans. Last year, Bill joined the board for the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, a non-profit entity that provides legal assistance to veterans who in many cases are homeless or have medical problems.
He became aware of the organization through a friend of his who is a lawyer. He says the organization works with law firms around the state that do pro bono work with veterans for their legal needs.
“I’m very happy that...in some small way I could help them as an organization,” Bill says.
Bill has not only served his town, but he’s also served his country. He was in the Army, serving nine years of active duty, two years in the Connecticut National Guard, and another 12 years in the reserves. He says he did it because he’s service oriented, and thinks it goes hand in hand with why he wants to serve North Haven.
He also coached little league baseball and softball for 10 years, saying he benefited from it, and hoped it benefited not only his children, but also other children he coached in some way.
“I view this as a continuation of my community service, by being first on the BOF and now as the second selectman,” Bill says.
He’s been a resident since 1972, and lives in a house that his father built on property that his family purchased before World War II. He’s had six children; two from a previous marriage and four with his current wife Jean.
“I’m very happy I live in North Haven,” Bill says.