Despite new faces and a new chairman, the Hopkinton Board of Selectmen has meshed well entering what may be a difficult few years for taxpayers.

After veteran selectmen Peter Russell and Done Lane chose not to run for re-election earlier in the year, the town brought on two new members, Jim O’Brien and Chris Lawless, to fill the spots.

According to Selectman Tom Congoran, it didn’t take long for the group to become familiar with one another.

“I think it’s been delightful. The five of us can disagree, but it doesn’t get personal,” said Congoran. “It’s easy anywhere for selectmen to make it personal if they don’t win an argument. That is devastating. We’re able to disagree, but it’s OK. We don’t agree on everything.”

Scott Flood has been getting accustomed to a new role, as he became chairman for the upcoming year, replacing George Langwasser.

“It’s a little bit more busy, but it hasn’t changed fundamentally. All the selectmen do the same sort of thing,” Flood said. “I have more direct interface with the (town administrator), but not a lot more than anyone else. The biggest change is that I run the meeting, and that’s really the big thing.”

Lawless may not have been a selectman before last election, but he could be found sitting on the benches at Town Hall nearly every Monday before he decided to run.

“Before I ran, I had been attending the selectmen’s meetings for two years so I didn’t really need much time to ramp up,” he said. “I think that things went very well in the beginning. Scott has done a great job making sure that everyone gets to say their piece.”

Many members of the board said dealing with the town budgets can be the most difficult aspect of their job. Flood said, the upcoming years will certainly be a test for the selectmen.

“The town of Hopkinton is in very tough financial straights now and for the next two years,” Flood said. “The revenue projections are projected to go down fairly dramatically, and the costs have gone up. We have serious financial challenges ahead of us, and it’ll be difficult to resolve them without cutting services.”

Congoran said he expects the upcoming year to be the most difficult task he has been faced with during his tenure as selectman.

“It’ll be a challenge. Unfortunately we have a slowing economy and inflationary costs,” Congoran said. “It’s the beginning of the cycle in which the board and town are going to have to choose between what it would like to have and what it can afford.”