WATERFORD — Selectman Richard Hunt is being remembered by his colleagues as “a great friend” and a valued contributor to the town, particularly in financial matters.

Hunt, 77, who was nearing the end of his second three-year term as selectman, died Dec. 19 from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. A memorial service for Hunt, who worked as an accountant, was held Saturday at the Oxford Hills Funeral Home in Oxford.

Board of Selectmen Chairman Randy Lessard made the announcement to Waterford residents on the town’s website.

“Richard was very proud to serve his community in this role as he knew it was his way of leveraging his skills and expertise in a manner that added value to the community he loved,” Lessard said in the announcement. 

Lessard said the memorial service and reception that followed at the Waterford Town Office were attended by Hunt’s many friends and colleagues from the Oxford Hills and from Windham, where he had an accounting practice from 1984 to 2000 and was active in town affairs, such as the Rotary Club. Attendees also came from Connecticut, where he was raised.

Hunt came to Maine in 1958 to study accounting at the University of Maine in Portland. He was married to his wife, Phyllis, for 55 years and had two children. He would later become a grandfather and great-grandfather. 

He reopened his accounting business in Waterford in 2000 and closed it in June 2014 after learning of his illness.

Lessard told the Sun Journal that one of Hunt’s greatest accomplishments was the implementation of a computerized accounting system for the town of Waterford. The old “barely functioning” manual system was replaced with a new system that Lessard said brought the town’s financial records into a usable and up-to-date format.

“Richard wasn’t even a selectman at the time, but he volunteered to put a system in place,” Lessard said.

Lessard said that Hunt had spent hundreds of hours each year supporting Town Clerk Brenda Bigonski and Deputy Clerk Betty Becker in its use.

“He was not only a selectman to me, but a friend that I could call anytime I had a question,” Becker said Tuesday. “He set up our current Trio system for the town that is so much easier to work with because of all of Richard’s efforts. Richard and his wife, Phyllis, helped me during the transition to our current accounting system. I feel very honored to have had the pleasure to work and have known Richard and his wife.”

The new system provided the town with easily accessible and valuable data that Lessard said has improved everything from the publication of the annual town report to ensuring that a system was in place to prevent another opportunity for embezzlement, such as the 2010 theft of $158,000 by then Deputy Clerk Jennifer Morin.

Hunt said at the time that the town’s old handwritten ledger used to record some of its fiscal transactions probably led to the embezzlement.

“I came in about a month after the embezzlement,” Lessard said. “It was horrible.” 

In 2012, Hunt went to Oxford County Superior Court to represent the town in its effort to recuperate some of the money. The former town employee has been paying $50 a week to the town directly from her pay.

Hunt told the Sun Journal in 2012 that he hoped to use his second term to develop a fiscal ordinance that would not only provide future Boards of Selectmen with information ranging from how to put together the town budget to using purchase orders and going out to bid on projects, but also provide internal financial controls.

Although he was unable to complete that task because of his illness, Lessard said he set the foundation for its future implementation.

“It was one of the goals for this year when he found out he was sick,” Lessard said. “But he found us a new auditor.” 

Hunt also served as a member of the Oxford County Budget Committee, which develops the multimillion-dollar county budget that is approved by county commissioners each year.

“Richard was a great asset to the (Oxford) County Budget Committee,” said Otisfield Selectman Rick Micklon, who served on the Budget Committee as its chairman with Hunt in 2012. “He was insightful, articulate and always concerned about the impact of county taxes on Waterford residents.”

Lessard said that the board has decided to wait until the annual election in March to fill the vacancy created by Hunt’s passing.

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