Town of Warwick Selectboard April 7, 2016 Minutes Members present: Dawn Magi, Lawrence Pruyne, Nick Arguimbau Others present: Town Coordinator David Young, Town Secretary and Town Clerk Rosa Fratangelo, Accountant Janice Barrett, Treasurer Beth Gilgun, Steve Ruggiero, Jon Calcari I. Call to Order Chair Magi called the meeting to order at 3:07 pm in the Town Hall. II. Presentations and Discussions 1. New and Other Business Unanticipated at Time of Meeting Posting --Young explained that when acting upon items in the current fiscal year, the legal posting time is fourteen days rather than seven, and recommended that the two proposed warrant articles for FY 16 be separated and handled at a Special Town Meeting to take place immediate before the Annual Town Meeting. The warrant articles involve appropriations: $3,000.00 from Free Cash for the Town of Montague intervention at the DPU and $20,000.00 for Broadband Enterprise Fund (BEF) capital outlay to be raised from certified available retained BEF earnings. Pruyne MOVED to hold a Special Town Meeting on Monday, May 2, 2016 at 7 p.m. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0. 2. Accountant --Young said that the completion of Schedule A has been delayed for each of the last eight years. Accountant Janice Barrett explained that there are two ways to file Schedule A: mostly done, submit it when not completed and contact our DOR representative when it is finished, or wait and submit it once it is complete. She said that she submits Schedule A once it is done with no need to open it up again. Young said that while everything always gets done he wanted to make the deadlines without a huge backlog. Barrett said that she must always reconcile figures with the Treasurer and that she will not sign off on something with which she does not agree. She said that it is doable for some small towns to make the deadline, and listed all the Schedules, forms and reports on which she must sign off. Barrett noted that the Treasurer does not always get her figures in on time. Barrett also said that she is retiring from her other job and will have more time to devote to getting her work done sooner for Warwick. She said that the most difficult thing to get done is the reconciliation forms; Treasurer Beth Gilgun concurred. They have to look at their respective numbers to figure out where the problems may lie. Young said that FRCOG could come in and get everything in on time, but that he wanted their results but not necessarily their program. Barrett said that she is salaried and is paid the same no matter how many hours she puts in, so it is of no benefit to her to get behind. She said that she submitted Schedule A at the end of March after Accountant's School; it was actually due by November 30, 2015. Barrett said that some of the necessary information was not available to her and also she did not put in lots of extra hours. Magi asked Barrett if she felt up to the job or if it places any strain on her; Barrett replied that she is up to the job and lives close enough to be able to come in for a few hours to get more things done, especially since she is retiring from her other job. Young noted that it would cost roughly 50% more to go with FRCOG's accounting program, and that he wanted to set higher expectations for the future with our current Accountant. He said that while the warrants are always done other things sometimes fall behind. Barrett said that one day every two weeks the payroll and bill warrants take priority; if time permits, she will enter cash receipts and journal entries. Young wanted a list of Barrett's priorities, which she listed as follows: payroll first, then bills, and essential other things such as cash receipts. Young said that major reports had to be met first, and Barrett said she will be able to dedicate entire days to reconciling figures. She said that she would have the work done by the first of 2017 and get caught up on the calendar by the end of the first half of FY 17. Young wanted to schedule monthly meetings with the financial team, a member of the Selectboard and himself. The procedure for turning in revenue was discussed. Magi said that how to follow the proper procedure must be made known to all departments. Young said that |Barrett needs more time to do her job and not educate others on how to turn in revenue, so he agreed to handle getting the departments to turn in the requisite paperwork. He then asked Town Secretary Rosa Fratangelo to prepare an outline of the procedure for turning in revenue. Steve Ruggiero said that as Town Coordinator Young could create an Email list for employees and the Accountant and automatically send out an Email to employees reminding them to get their paperwork in or to ask for any missing documentation. Pruyne said that a better system and better overall accounting practices are needed going forward. He asked if FROCG's standardized service be better; Barrett replied that would be up to the Selectboard to decide. Barrett said that her job is based on ten hours per week but to do everything on time, more time is needed. Young said that we have enough time and sufficient funds to keep our Accountant, but asked how we get caught up for the four or five months we get behind. Barrett pointed out that we are always one month behind with cash receipts. Young asked Barrett if she can commit to putting in the hours to get caught up and to be on time by the 1st of January 2017; Barrett replied that she can. Young wanted the Board to choose one member to represent them at monthly meetings with the financial team. Pruyne asked if monthly budget reports could be given to the Board showing all accounts; Young provided the Selectboard members a copy of just such a report. Pruyne mentioned a line item on a recent warrant that did not get approved. Barrett explained that a lack of proper communication caused the problem, but that the situation had been straightened out. Confusion about correct tax ID numbers was at the root of the problem. The main points discussed were reiterated: Be up to date by January 1, 2017; an Email list to insure timely submission of revenue and accompanying documentation; monthly meeting with Selectboard, Town Coordinator and financial team. Arguimbau asked to meet in January of 2017 to assess progress and see how things are going at that time. Pruyne said he would serve as the Selectboard's representative to the monthly meetings until the May 16 election. 3. ATM Warrant--Young said that the Board needed to vote to open the ATM warrant for petition articles. Magi MOVED to open the Annual Town Meeting warrant effective today. Pruyne SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0. The closing date will be decided at the April 11th meeting. Broadband and fiber were briefly discussed. Young invited everyone to stay for the Broadband Committee meeting at 5 p.m. III. Adjournment At 4:57 p.m., Arguimbau MOVED to adjourn. Pruyne SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0. Documents consulted at this meeting: * Department of Revenue Division of Local Services Municipal calendar for Local Officials dated October 2012 * Email from Town Coordinator David Young dated April 1, 2016 re: Town Accountant Job Description