Emergency funds earmarked to help chase the town’s “missing” $919,000 will not be used to plug year-end deficits in the town's books.

The Finance Committee last spring approved the use of $40,000 from its reserve account - used for unforeseen expenses and emergency situations - to pay for an anticipated increase in the cost of an audit of the town's books after a $919,000 discrepancy in the books was discovered in April.

Last week, Town Administrator Mark Andrews told the Finance Committee that there were sufficient funds for the audit and asked that the money instead be used to fill deficits in the salary accounts of the Council on Aging and Town Planner departments.

The Finance Committee expressed concern about the emergency funding being used for that reason, tabled votes on those transfers, and asked Andrews to return Wednesday, July 13 to provide more information about the funding and accounts.

Council on Aging

Back before the FinCom on Wednesday, Andrews pulled the transfer of $34,000 to the Council on Aging salary account, saying only that after examining the account further, the needed funds were available and the transfer was not necessary.

Andrews had previously asked the FinCom to approve the request "given the fact that there were very difficult circumstances" in the Council on Aging.

Marcia Griswold, who oversaw the Council on Aging, was placed on paid leave in February for an unknown, unannounced reason. At that time, Susan Green, an administrative assistant in Andrews' office, was given the responsibility of acting director of the Council on Aging in addition to her regular duties. Green was awarded a $5,000 stipend on top of her regular salary for the additional work.

Griswold, whose job title was "director of Senior and Social Services," returned to work in May as "Social Services Assistant." Andrews said that position is part of Griswold's job, though Green remains the acting director of the Council on Aging.

Andrews requested a transfer of $34,000 to the Council of Aging salary account from three areas - the Harbormaster Department salaries account, the emergency audit funding, and the Harbormaster Department expenses account - to pay for parts of both Green's and Griswold's salaries.

It is unclear why the $34,000 is no longer needed. Approached after he left the meeting, Andrews declined to comment on anything that took place.

Planning Department

Town Planner John Charbonneau Wednesday offered the FinCom more information about the transfer request for $28,000 of the earmarked audit funding to his department, even though he was not employed by the town when the issue began.

The committee was split 3-3 on whether to allow the transfer, so Andrews' request ultimately failed.

A discrepancy in the Planning Department's salary account arose after April 2010 Town Meeting approved a town budget reduced by $72,000, Charbonneau explained, noting that one of the areas that would be looked at for the reductions was the Planning Department.

The town did not have a town planner at that time. Charbonneau was brought on board the following August.

In October 2010, Town Meeting reduced the Planning Department's salary account by $33,000, leaving a $28,000 deficit, Charbonneau said.

"When we did the planning for the fiscal year budget in April, we didn't know that we'd have Mr. Charbonneau's services," Andrews told the Finance Committee.

But Finance Committee members echoed similar concerns shared during last week's meeting.

"Knowing where [the $28,000] came from, I'm having difficulty saying that I approve that," said Finance Committee member Dave Trudell. "I could in essence vote for this, but how we got there on this $40,000 from [reserve funding] is a convoluted route that I'm not happy with."

Finance Committee chair Frank Heath asked Andrews if he wanted to amend the transfer request. Andrews declined, saying: "We will make every effort to avoid [this] in the future."

Finance Committee members Bonnie Cottuli, Larry McDonald, and Rene Pickett were not present at the meeting. The Finance Committee was split 3-3 on the vote, the transfer request did not pass.

Inspectional Services

The Finance Committee approved the transfer of $12,000 from an account in the Assessment Department to Inspectional Services, but not without discussion.

The $12,000 "pretty much amounts to additional hours of work" in the department, Andrews said. "The budget going into fiscal year 2011 was not adequate."

Andrews said large-scale building projects such as the medical office building at A.D. Makepeace's Rosebook Business Park and the affordable housing project at 815 Main Street, along with a number of fires and accidents to which inspectors had to respond, necessitated the extra work from employees.

This explanation was met with opposition from FinCom members.

"All these [large-scale building-related] inspections occurred within the day. The additional [staff] hours would be in the evening," Finance Committee member Donna Bronk pointed out. "It looks as if our Inspectional Service Department can't handle what it needs to handle."

Andrews noted that part-time building inspector Andrew Williams' services were needed more than anticipated. He was only scheduled to work certain days per week, so the town needed to pay when it needed him on his regularly scheduled days off.

FinCom members Paulsen and Trudell asked if Director of Inspectional Services Myles Burke's lack of state certification caused the increase in Williams' hours.

The state Department of Public Safety has on several occasions indicated that Burke does not meet the minimum qualifications to even be allowed to take the inspector’s examination to obtain certification, specifically that he lacks the required experience in the supervision of building construction or design.

Andrews said that issue did not contribute to the deficit. He has maintained that certification is not a requirement of the position of Director of Inspectional Services.

"I believe there is a need for a director of the department to run all the gears within the department," Andrews said, noting that the problem has been addressed in this year's budget and that the town is currently seeking a full-time local building inspector.

"I know we budgeted appropriately for fiscal year 2012," he said.

The FinCom ultimately voted 4-2 in favor of the transfer with Bronk and Paulsen in opposition.

Andrews needs both the approval of the FinCom and the Board of Selectmen to go ahead with year-end transfers of funds, Heath said after the meeting.

Fiscal year 2011 ended on June 30, and as is the case with all budgets, it is normal for some accounts to contain surpluses and others to have deficits at the end of the year. Town officials review the numbers and request FinCom approval for the transfer of funds between accounts to reduce deficits and pay bills.

The Selectmen voted 3-2 in favor of all of Andrews' requested transfers - even though some were tabled for the FinCom until Wednesday - during its meeting Tuesday night.

Any remaining deficits will need to be addressed by voters at October Town Meeting, said Heath.

In other Finance Committee business:

A looming deficit in the Police Department's overtime budget will be addressed at October Town Meeting, Andrews told FinCom members.

"The [Police] Chief [Richard Stanley] has provided documentation" indicating reasons for the deficit, Andrews said, noting that the chief is determining "how best to proceed."

FinCom members asked Andrews to provide information about the issue ahead of time so that the committee can educate voters on the problem and what's being done to correct it.

"We all know the chief can sell snow to an eskimo and that's his plan on Town Meeting floor," Bronk said with a smile. "We need facts."

Andrews said he would submit documents to the FinCom addressing the issue.

"I just want to make it clear: We're not waiting to write this [Town Meeting] article in October," Andrews said, adding that he and Stanley are working with town attorneys and independent auditor Powers & Sullivan to "correct whatever issue we faced in 2011."