By Paula J. Owen TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
WINCHENDON — On his last day in office Wednesday, Gov. Deval L.Patrick signed 10 more bills into law, including deficit legislation that will allow the town to borrow up to $6 million to plug a $3.8 million hole in its operating budget.
Voters approved the measure at a special town meeting Nov. 24, which was called to deal with the deficit along with $175,000 in cuts to town services. School Superintendent Salah E. Khelfaoui said the School Committee had also cut $350,000 out of the school budget for this fiscal year.
Selectmen approved the cuts as part of the town's deficit reduction plan that the town was required to submit to the state Department of Revenue, along with deficit legislation.
Mr. Khelfaoui and other officials said they are concerned that the legislation did not include any oversight and also increases Mr. Kreidler's powers.
School officials allege there is money missing from their accounts. Mr. Khelfaoui said it was "very disturbing" that the state would give Mr. Kreidler up to $6 million without oversight and without holding a public hearing for input from the public.
Outgoing state Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, one of the bill's sponsors, said there was not enough time for a public hearing on the matter because the bill had to be signed by the governor Tuesday, he said.
The DOR, he said, helped formulate and was satisfied with it, he said.
Auditors told Winchendon officials a deficit in the insurance trust fund, a lack of communication, double accounting entries and inaccurate reports, and a crash with the town's financial software permanently damaged records, all contributed to the town's financial breakdown.
Contact Paula Owen at powen@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @PaulaOwenTG
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NO TAKERS FOR AUDIT BID ... YET
FIN COMM TO PUSH FORWARD ON PROPOSAL
FIN COMM TO PUSH FORWARD ON PROPOSAL
Damien Fisher
News Staff Writer
News Staff Writer
No auditing firms so far seem to be interested in dealing with the town’s request for another round of audits after the Finance Committee received zero bids for its requests for a proposal.
“We’re back to square one,” said Ulysse Maillet, a Finance Committee member.
The committee is looking for a firm to review the town’s recent finance problem and perform a forensic audit on accounts that are identified as being of concern, Mr. Maillet said. Though representatives from two firms did meet with the committee to discuss the request for proposal, none of the firms provided a bid as of Tuesday’s deadline.
Thomas Kane, the Finance Committee’s chairman, will contact representatives of the two previously interested companies to ask if there is a problem with the request for proposal that can be corrected in the future, Mr. Maillet said. The committee intends to keep moving forward until it gets an auditing firm in place, he said.
“We just want to put this thing to bed,” he said.
The town has been undergoing multiple audits since the revelations for a $3.4 million deficit. The town’s auditingfirm, Roselli and Clark, as well as auditors with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, have been going through the books for several months. Mr. Maillet said the Finance Committee wants an additional audit performed by an outside firm to look at the situation and help identify areas for a possible forensic audit. Mr. Maillet said there are worries about the handling of some town and school accounts.
“There are certainly areas of concern,” he said. “We need to look at the school department as well.”
Much of the deficit comes from old accounting errors in the town’s health insurance trust fund that went undetected for at least two fiscal years during a period of personnel changes. The school department also ran into issues with its grant trust fund accounts due to overspending and inaccurate reports. The school’s financial management staff has also had issues issuing correct payroll information.
The financial situation is starting to look more stable as a $6 million deficit revenue bond from the state is up for vote in the House of Representatives today that will allow the town to get back on correct financial footing. The bill has already passed through the Senate and the appropriate House committees.
“We’re back to square one,” said Ulysse Maillet, a Finance Committee member.
The committee is looking for a firm to review the town’s recent finance problem and perform a forensic audit on accounts that are identified as being of concern, Mr. Maillet said. Though representatives from two firms did meet with the committee to discuss the request for proposal, none of the firms provided a bid as of Tuesday’s deadline.
Thomas Kane, the Finance Committee’s chairman, will contact representatives of the two previously interested companies to ask if there is a problem with the request for proposal that can be corrected in the future, Mr. Maillet said. The committee intends to keep moving forward until it gets an auditing firm in place, he said.
“We just want to put this thing to bed,” he said.
The town has been undergoing multiple audits since the revelations for a $3.4 million deficit. The town’s auditingfirm, Roselli and Clark, as well as auditors with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, have been going through the books for several months. Mr. Maillet said the Finance Committee wants an additional audit performed by an outside firm to look at the situation and help identify areas for a possible forensic audit. Mr. Maillet said there are worries about the handling of some town and school accounts.
“There are certainly areas of concern,” he said. “We need to look at the school department as well.”
Much of the deficit comes from old accounting errors in the town’s health insurance trust fund that went undetected for at least two fiscal years during a period of personnel changes. The school department also ran into issues with its grant trust fund accounts due to overspending and inaccurate reports. The school’s financial management staff has also had issues issuing correct payroll information.
The financial situation is starting to look more stable as a $6 million deficit revenue bond from the state is up for vote in the House of Representatives today that will allow the town to get back on correct financial footing. The bill has already passed through the Senate and the appropriate House committees.
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