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The few people that showed up at the polls in North Attleborough April 1 weren't fooling anyone when they cast their vote for a change in the look on the board of selectmen.

A mild 15 percent turnout bumped six-term incumbent Marge Kraskouskas and single-term incumbent William Moffitt in favor of Mark Williamson and former selectman Michael Thompson.

Williamson drew the most number of votes with 1,675 to Thompson's 1,438. Kraskouskas was third with 932 and Moffitt received 910 votes. There were six write-in ballots counted and 461 blanks from the 2,711 ballots cast.

Thompson shared his disappointment in the low turn out, saying it is "one of the most cherished rights we have." He thanked the military service members for the right. Thompson's godson will killed in Iraq last year. "For me it's personal. In the future I hope it's personal for each one of you."
He told the board that together they would make a "huge difference," and not working as individuals, but as a team.

Williamson said he was looking forward to not only working with fellow selectmen, but with members of other boards.

He mentioned that a main goal was the budget, which is in a deficit of just under $1M. He talked about working on seeking additional revenue for the town, using community grants and economic development, and addressed the issue of government reform. He also invited townspeople to contact him if they were interested in volunteering some time to the town.

Selectmen agreed they would meet only on Thursday evenings until all members could schedule time for an off-day meeting. Recently the board was meeting the first Monday of the month to allow other boards and department heads to discuss issues with selectmen and residents.

During the meeting, Town Administrator Mark Fisher announced that the state budget had been refigured minus Governor Deval Patrick's expected casino revenues and therefore adjusted local state aid available.

Fisher said the new figures cuts $417,000 off of the previous $1.3M deficit and that this new number would give departments more money to work with, but that the town would not step in to make changes, and that it will be left to department heads make the decisions.