After critical audit, Webster to drop town accountant
By
Brian Lee
Telegram & Gazette Staff
Posted Dec 18, 2017 at 10:32 PM
Updated Dec 19, 2017 at 6:36 AM
WEBSTER – On the recommendation of Town Administrator Douglas C.
Willardson, selectmen voted 4-1 Monday not to renew Town Accountant
Pamela Leduc’s contract when it expires in July.
Ms. Leduc, who has served in the job since 2000, will be placed on paid administrative leave until her contract ends.
She hugged various town employees after the board took its vote.
Earlier in the meeting, Marsha Bohinc and Mary Jane Handy from the state Department of Revenue reiterated fiscal management concerns that were first addressed in an audit by Roselli, Clark & Associates of Woburn.
The new DOR report to selectmen said Webster needed to address longstanding deficiencies in financial management practices. The town suffers from an inability or unwillingness to fulfill fundamental responsibilities including the obligations to clear tax titles, reconcile cash and receivables, implement checks and balances and submit required reports to the DOR’s Division of Local Services on a timely basis, the report said. Many of those shortcomings persist today, and some have been exacerbated by turnover, lack of political will, and inadequate formal authority to hold staff accountable, the report said.
Mr. Willardson said he recommended Ms. Leduc not be retained, in part, because of an issue with the town’s recently completed $43 million elementary school project.
The town hadn’t borrowed a $4.4 million portion when those funds were made available at a previous town meeting. Instead, it paid out of its general fund, resulting in cash flow issues and a “free cash” certification for fiscal 2015 that ran at negative $4.1 million. That amount is now taxable, and over the life of the bond, will cost taxpayers roughly $800,000, the administrator said.
Also, according to Mr. Willardson, Ms. Leduc hadn’t set enough money aside for the town’s portion of health insurance. It resulted in a more than $750,000 overall deficit. The town is taking steps to no longer serve as a self-insurer.
In addition, the town for at least a decade hasn’t submitted Division of Local Services documents to the state in a timely manner. They had been due in October or November, but always filed in March, Mr. Willardson said.
The lack of timeliness put the town at risk of a withholding and potential loss of state aid, the DOR report said.
Chairman Andrew M. Jolda, Vice Chairman Randall V. Becker and Selectmen Mark G. Dowgiewicz and Robert J. Miller voted yes, while Donald D. Bourque voted no.
Mr. Dowgiewicz said he supported Mr. Willardson’s recommendation because Mr. Willardson ultimately has to work with people in Town Hall. “It’s going to fall on your shoulders from this point on,” Mr. Dowgiewicz said of the town’s fiscal concerns.
Mr. Becker called it a difficult decision in view of the amount of work that had been accomplished under Ms. Leduc, who was credited for serving as acting town administrator for 18 months, prior to Mr. Willardson’s hiring. But as selectmen serve as the town’s board of directors, and the administrator its CEO, Mr. Becker said he had to rely on Mr. Willardson’s recommendation.
Mr. Willardson said that he felt strongly about the decision, but wanted it noted that Ms. Leduc hadn’t done anything illegal during her tenure with Webster. He said she worked very hard.
Ms. Leduc said town financial leaders received the DOR report last week and had been told that it was a draft version that they would have a chance to review and comment on. She asserted that several things in the report were inaccurate.
In a statement she provided to the newspaper, Ms. Leduc noted that she had made some controversial decisions over the years that were always with the best interests of the town at large in mind.
“These decisions have left me quite unpopular with the mean-spirited, sometimes uninformed, oftentimes misinformed, always underinformed very vocal few. So be it,” she said.
Mr. Dowgiewicz said he was filing a disclosure with the clerk’s office that Ms. Leduc had filed an ethics complaint against him. Mr. Dowgiewicz has been accused of trying to persuade Ms. Leduc to hire Mr. Dowgiewicz’s daughter’s boyfriend for a police job.
Ms. Leduc, who has served in the job since 2000, will be placed on paid administrative leave until her contract ends.
She hugged various town employees after the board took its vote.
Earlier in the meeting, Marsha Bohinc and Mary Jane Handy from the state Department of Revenue reiterated fiscal management concerns that were first addressed in an audit by Roselli, Clark & Associates of Woburn.
The new DOR report to selectmen said Webster needed to address longstanding deficiencies in financial management practices. The town suffers from an inability or unwillingness to fulfill fundamental responsibilities including the obligations to clear tax titles, reconcile cash and receivables, implement checks and balances and submit required reports to the DOR’s Division of Local Services on a timely basis, the report said. Many of those shortcomings persist today, and some have been exacerbated by turnover, lack of political will, and inadequate formal authority to hold staff accountable, the report said.
Mr. Willardson said he recommended Ms. Leduc not be retained, in part, because of an issue with the town’s recently completed $43 million elementary school project.
The town hadn’t borrowed a $4.4 million portion when those funds were made available at a previous town meeting. Instead, it paid out of its general fund, resulting in cash flow issues and a “free cash” certification for fiscal 2015 that ran at negative $4.1 million. That amount is now taxable, and over the life of the bond, will cost taxpayers roughly $800,000, the administrator said.
Also, according to Mr. Willardson, Ms. Leduc hadn’t set enough money aside for the town’s portion of health insurance. It resulted in a more than $750,000 overall deficit. The town is taking steps to no longer serve as a self-insurer.
In addition, the town for at least a decade hasn’t submitted Division of Local Services documents to the state in a timely manner. They had been due in October or November, but always filed in March, Mr. Willardson said.
Chairman Andrew M. Jolda, Vice Chairman Randall V. Becker and Selectmen Mark G. Dowgiewicz and Robert J. Miller voted yes, while Donald D. Bourque voted no.
Mr. Dowgiewicz said he supported Mr. Willardson’s recommendation because Mr. Willardson ultimately has to work with people in Town Hall. “It’s going to fall on your shoulders from this point on,” Mr. Dowgiewicz said of the town’s fiscal concerns.
Mr. Becker called it a difficult decision in view of the amount of work that had been accomplished under Ms. Leduc, who was credited for serving as acting town administrator for 18 months, prior to Mr. Willardson’s hiring. But as selectmen serve as the town’s board of directors, and the administrator its CEO, Mr. Becker said he had to rely on Mr. Willardson’s recommendation.
Mr. Willardson said that he felt strongly about the decision, but wanted it noted that Ms. Leduc hadn’t done anything illegal during her tenure with Webster. He said she worked very hard.
Ms. Leduc said town financial leaders received the DOR report last week and had been told that it was a draft version that they would have a chance to review and comment on. She asserted that several things in the report were inaccurate.
In a statement she provided to the newspaper, Ms. Leduc noted that she had made some controversial decisions over the years that were always with the best interests of the town at large in mind.
“These decisions have left me quite unpopular with the mean-spirited, sometimes uninformed, oftentimes misinformed, always underinformed very vocal few. So be it,” she said.
Mr. Dowgiewicz said he was filing a disclosure with the clerk’s office that Ms. Leduc had filed an ethics complaint against him. Mr. Dowgiewicz has been accused of trying to persuade Ms. Leduc to hire Mr. Dowgiewicz’s daughter’s boyfriend for a police job.
How on earth does a town go for 17 years with all of these problems. and no one speaks up sooner ? Figure that out for me !Is the DOR Rep. doing their job ? Sure does not sound like it. Just like they let Templeton go for four years with out a audit ? Do you know a person in Town Hall ignored the DOR when reports were late ? Who was our leader then ? Markel or Carter ? Who were our Selectmen ? In the past will not cut it ! So sorry !
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