Clarksburg Officials Planning Full Review of Town Warrants
 The Selectmen are trying to figure what went wrong at the special town meeting last week. |
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Town Administrator Carl McKinney on Wednesday said he had had "extensive discussions" with both the town accountant and town treasurer over the problems with the spending articles at last week's special town meeting.
"I am satisfied they did not know any sooner than we did," he said.
McKinney said it was unfortunate that things based on hearsay were related at Monday's meeting of the Selectmen.
"I don't want to impugn anyone's integrity," he said. "We have hard-working individuals. What was said shouldn't have been said.
"I think we have a very capable staff and I'd like to keep it that way."
The board had discussed its frustration with how seven of the special town meeting's spending articles had had to be tabled, intimating that the town's employees may have been aware of the difficulties prior to the meeting.
McKinney said that was not true and that the two would be asked to attend next week's joint meeting with the Finance Committee to review a new warrant policy and go over the town's finances.
Town officials are considering a town meeting warrant check off system for all articles — whether or not they relate to money — to ensure all departments have reviewed them.
Warrants would be reviewed by the town accountant, town treasurer, town clerk, town assessor and Finance Committee before being submitted to both the town's counsel and the Department of Revenue.
"Once it makes it's way through the process, then and only then is it going to be processed," McKinney said. The policy will also include a wide dissemination of the warrant, including posting at the Senior Center, the school and forwarding copies to the radio station, iBerkshires and The Berkshire Eagle.
Original story: CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The Selectmen are planning more employee accountability after last Wednesday's special town meeting fiasco.
Seven items related to spending had to be tabled when the town officials learned from a resident that morning that they could not use $80,000 from the sewer enterprise fund. Using that money would have been illegal because the amount in the account has to be certified by the state before it can be spent in this fiscal year.
Finance Committee member Lori-Anne Aubin attended Monday's meeting to discuss the events of the town meeting.
"We were discussing the sewer funds for months during the budget season. It should not have happened," Aubin said. "It is embarrassing as a representative of the town to go to a meeting and have to table more than half of it."
Town Administrator Carl McKinney said he asked the town accountant if he knew that the town could not use the money.
"I talked to David, and he appeared to know that we couldn't do it," McKinney said. "I don't know why he didn't say anything, and I told him we can't have that ever again."
McKinney also wondered if town treasurer also knew but failed to speak up.
McKinney said it is frustrating to not be able to depend on people to come forth with such information.
"I don't pretend to know everything, but at the same time I should be able to rely on people around me who work with me, who are knowledgeable, and able to fairly and freely share their knowledge for the betterment of the town," he said.
Aubin said they do not attend Finance Committee meetings and have not provided them with up-to-date information on reconciled cash, current expenses and budget year-to-date expenses.
The board agreed to inform the accountant treasurer that their attendance at financial meetings will now be mandatory.
McKinney said the town needs solid numbers or their finances will falter again.
"We are breaking new ground here. Our books are on the verge of being corrected after a very long and difficult time period and we want to make sure we don't go down that road again," McKinney said. "We don't want sloppy spongy numbers - we want them rock solid."
Selectman William Schrade Jr. said he is becoming frustrated with the continued setbacks caused by incorrect information.
"This is a repeat conversation, and the one thing I wanted when I came on this board was accountability," Schrade said. "I believe we all make mistakes, but we can't even get though a special town meeting where we are there for a specific reason."
Schrade said he does not want to fire anyone but consequences need be clearer.
"I think we have to say sorry because those are our employees. We are the executive board of the Town Hall/company," he said. "A CEO would fire everybody, and I am not saying that, but ... we need to let them know what needs to change."
McKinney proposed a new protocol that would create more accountability. He proposed sending out a document that would make all responsible departments read and review the warrant and sign off on it.
"There will now be a level of accountability here so if we have had that process and there were people in the know that knew we weren't doing the right thing, then there is paper trail leading right to their door step," McKinney said.
McKinney said it may also be beneficial to hold financial workshops for town employees.
The Selectmen will have a joint meeting with the Finance Committee on Oct. 8. The board expects the town accountant and treasurer to be there.
"I am going to see the glass half full, and I think we are going to have a very productive meeting Wednesday," Schrade said. "Maybe it is a fresh new start and we can move forward from there."
Editor's Note: This article has been updated with comments from the town administrator and to remove the names of the employees discussed on Monday as a matter of fairness.
Tags: special town meeting,
