Meet Curtis Nunes

Lifelong Dartmouth resident and current Board of Assessors member Curtis Nunes is running for the Select Board to help residents navigate the rise in the cost of living in Dartmouth.

“I feel the cost of living is going to be going up, and so I want to help people be better prepared for it, depending on what the town does with some projects that are needed,” he said.

One ticket item on Nunes’ campaign is a focus on Dartmouth’s water and sewer needs.

He noted that the sewage treatment plant is reaching its capacity, and if the town wants to have clean water then it needs a plant “better than the one we have.”

He said a project to improve the sewage treatment plant needs to be a “big priority in town.”

Nunes said he is also passionate about expanding employee health insurance.

Currently, Dartmouth pays for around 53% to 54% of employees’ health insurance while other towns in Greater New Bedford pay a minimum of 60% with some communities as high as 75%, according to Nunes.

“I think 60 is a minimum goal of mine to make it a little easier,” he said.

If elected, Nunes would also focus on the Dartmouth Public Schools, pointing out that more than half of the town’s money goes toward the district’s budget.

“I have mixed feelings about the school, but because it is the largest budget in town — more than half —that should be the first thing looked at,” he said.

He said there are some elements in the budget that don’t make sense to him, such as some of the salaries.

“I find the pay scales too low at the bottom and too high at the top,” he said.

Nunes also thinks that tax rates should be increased, noting that as the costs of goods and services increase the money will need to come from somewhere.

“We need to pay more,” he said. “We have one of the lowest tax rates around. That has to change.”

Currently serving his fifth year as a member of the Board of Assessors, Nunes has some experience working in Dartmouth’s town government and with knowing when to fight for the town and when to fight for residents.

This includes fighting to increase the tax exemptions for disabled veterans and the elderly, which he campaigned on two years ago when he ran for reelection.

At two meetings held earlier this year, he accomplished this campaign promise.

Veterans will now be getting $2,000 in exemptions on taxes rather than $1,000 and the elderly will be getting $1,000 rather than $500.

“[I] made sure it got done and got delivered because it’s important to help the people that need it,” Nunes said.

Fights for the town would include making sure people are paying their fare share and are “doing the right thing.”

Nunes currently operates a real estate company, which he opened in 2016, and said that as the owner of his Dartmouth-based company he’s able to have a flexible schedule, which will allow him to be available for “anything” because he’s able to budget out how he spends his time.

“This job is not about Monday night Select Board meetings. This is being available for ribbon cuttings, ceremonies, site visits,” he said. “A lot of that stuff goes on nine to five.”