Thumbnail for Hardwick, MA Board of Selectmen Meeting 8/1/22

Hardwick's Financial Operations Overhaul and New Treasurer Collector Clerk Appointment

Original title: Hardwick, MA Board of Selectmen Meeting 8/1/22

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Meeting details

Date

August 2, 2022

Duration

Decisions

8 recorded

Action Items

22 assigned

Summary

The Hardwick Board of Selectmen approved the warrant for a Special Town Meeting and, most significantly, approved the hiring of Justine Kozelka (also referred to as Jessica Rzavka) as the new Treasurer Collector Clerk. The board extensively discussed the town's historical financial reconciliation challenges and the new hire's experience, particularly with Excel and financial software, as crucial for streamlining processes. Significant progress in reconciliation was reported, with efforts to improve information flow, implement checks and balances, and reduce errors. The meeting also covered ongoing efforts in tax collection, accounts receivable, and the need for structured financial reporting and support for the new staff member, while also addressing office security and the transition from external consulting.

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Discussion Highlights

The warrant for the Special Town Meeting on Monday, August 22nd, 2022, at 6:00 PM was approved.
Justine Kozelka was interviewed for the Clerk/Treasurer Collector position, highlighting her 2.5 years of experience in North Brookfield and proficiency with Excel spreadsheets.
The board expressed strong approval of Justine Kozelka's experience, noting its value in improving historical reconciliation issues and facilitating a smoother transition.
The hiring of Jessica Rzavka (Justine Kozelka) for the Treasurer Collector Clerk position was unanimously approved.
The Treasurer Collector Clerk position was approved for 32 hours per week at $18.37 per hour, effective immediately.
The department has been significantly behind on reconciliation, with previous issues attributed to departmental functioning, conversion issues, and software understanding.
Current reconciliation status is up to May, with a goal to streamline processes for quicker, weekly reconciliation.
Reconciliation process improvements have reduced the time from a week to one day, utilizing checks and balances and Excel spreadsheets.
Improved information flow from the Collector's office and direct data pulling have reduced errors by eliminating manual entry.
A two-person system for checks and balances and standardization of packets and processes are being implemented.
Scanning documents immediately after posting and uploading to a shared drive has improved efficiency and communication with accounting.
Future efforts will include working on fraud prevention and reconciling accounts receivable.
Current financial postings are up-to-date, and July's bank statements were reconciled within one hour, a task that previously took 8-12 hours.
Courtesy letters are being sent to taxpayers regarding outstanding FY22 payments, with a September 1st deadline for official advertisement and potential tax sales.
The tax lien auction was successfully completed, generating revenue.
Concerns were raised regarding the current Treasurer's investment practices and lack of understanding of basic investment principles.
Discussion occurred regarding funding for Jessica's support/training, with a preference for realistic budgeting to avoid needing additional requests.
The support plan for Jessica will transition from intensive weekend work to one day a week, likely Thursdays, with assistance from Tina.
A preference for a weekly action plan was expressed, including reviewing progress, identifying challenges, and planning next steps to foster transparency.
Concerns were raised about past financial management, with a request for Jessica to provide regular updates on financial status and future projections.
The department maintains detailed time sheets and billing records, emphasizing transparency in financial procedures.
A need for 'better procedures' across the town office was expressed, specifically that accounting should receive forms from departments.
The approved office relocation is on hold pending a quote for the phone system, with concerns about the lack of security in the current tax collector's office.
Ongoing financial support/consulting is provided on an hourly basis, with a desire to eventually reduce reliance on external consultants.

Transcript (11,736 words)

Lightly cleaned for readability. Each timestamp opens the video at that point.

00:00:00
It is the it's the august first monday august 1st 2022 for selectmen meeting um two items on the agenda interview justine forzoka and more for special meetings
00:00:22
Do you want me to go get them or do you want is she ready is she here i just texted sarah and jessica
00:00:40
Now we're long sleeves so if you're warm i'm prepared i'm fine you can put it on it takes a while to get to me if you're warm you just want to take so long right because i put long sleeves on i should have brought a sweater i know i sit at work with a space heater on my
00:00:58
Feet most days it's freezing it's like so cold it's such a big it's such an open space that it's just tough to regulate i i was freezing in my office and i thought the cold air would come in through here because it gets blazing hot with the sun
00:01:17
On you yeah but then it's cold so sorry about that they're coming right down but i don't know if you just want to go through the morning and i have the one for you to sign that ryan has on his paper special paper i did
00:01:35
Any questions i would make a motion that we accept and approve the warrant for the should that's the special time it should stay special yes right yeah
00:01:53
So i'll start over i'll make a motion to approve and accept the warrant for a special annual time special town meeting for monday august 22nd 2022 at at 6pm
00:02:35
How my my hair normally is yes because i didn't recognize her because i used to see the strings it says annual so he's going to change it so ryan's going to fix it he's fixing it bring it in [Music] all right so [Music]

[00:00:00] it is the [00:00:02] it's the august first [00:00:05] monday august 1st 2022 for selectmen [00:00:08] meeting um two items on the agenda [00:00:10] interview justine forzoka [00:00:13] and more for special meetings [00:00:22] do you want me to go get them or do you [00:00:24] want is she ready is she here i just [00:00:26] texted sarah and jessica [00:00:40] now we're long sleeves so if you're warm [00:00:42] i'm prepared [00:00:44] i'm fine you can put it on it takes a [00:00:46] while to get to me if you're warm you [00:00:48] just want to take so long [00:00:49] right because i put long sleeves on i [00:00:51] should have brought a sweater i know [00:00:56] i sit at work with a space heater on my [00:00:58] feet most days [00:01:01] it's freezing [00:01:05] it's like so cold it's such a big it's [00:01:07] such an open space that it's [00:01:09] just tough to regulate i [00:01:11] i was freezing in my office and i [00:01:13] thought the cold air would come in [00:01:14] through here [00:01:15] because it gets blazing hot with the sun [00:01:17] on you yeah [00:01:18] um but then it's cold so sorry about [00:01:20] that um [00:01:22] they're coming right down but i don't [00:01:23] know if you just want to go through the [00:01:24] morning [00:01:26] and i have the one for you to sign that [00:01:28] ryan has on his paper special paper [00:01:33] i did [00:01:35] any questions [00:01:40] i would make a motion that we accept and [00:01:43] approve the warrant for the [00:01:46] should that's the special time it should [00:01:48] stay special [00:01:50] yes right yeah um [00:01:53] so i'll start over [00:01:55] i'll make a motion to um [00:01:57] approve and accept the warrant for a [00:01:59] special [00:02:01] annual time special town meeting [00:02:04] for monday august 22nd 2022 at at 6pm [00:02:35] how my my hair normally is [00:02:37] yes because i didn't recognize her [00:02:39] because i used to see the strings [00:02:42] it says annual so he's going to change [00:02:44] it so ryan's going to fix it he's fixing [00:02:46] it bring it in [00:02:48] [Music] [00:02:50] all right [00:02:51] so [00:02:52] [Music] [00:03:02] um to interview justine [00:03:05] so welcome [00:03:06] bye hi [00:03:09] so i'm julian on the chair this is kylie [00:03:11] probably is the clerk and this is [00:03:42] maybe jessica wants to start out [00:03:44] i don't know if you want to get a little [00:03:47] synopsis from her sure [00:03:51] of the interview and [00:03:54] the reason that you wanted to bear [00:03:56] um so the reason i would like to hire [00:03:59] justine is that she already has a couple [00:04:01] years of experience in north carolina as [00:04:05] the clerk or the treasurer collector so [00:04:08] she already has experience um [00:04:11] you can basically just throw her into [00:04:13] that position and [00:04:14] kind of tweak things to the way that [00:04:16] we're [00:04:18] doing stuff um [00:04:21] every place is different yeah right [00:04:24] and you have a different software [00:04:26] yep [00:04:32] software [00:04:34] oh it's point oh [00:04:36] never heard of it very old probably i [00:04:39] only know the two now [00:04:42] so i'm hoping this is going to be easier [00:04:45] yeah it probably will be later super [00:04:47] user-friendly it's easy yeah yeah and [00:04:50] kind of said you're directing one thing [00:04:52] so um one of the things [00:04:54] that she was talking about when she what [00:04:56] she does with her field um is an excel [00:04:58] spreadsheet and she ties everything out [00:05:00] which is one of the things jess and i [00:05:02] have been working on um [00:05:04] the big push is for checks and balance [00:05:07] before anything gets entered into the [00:05:09] system uh to make reconciliation easier [00:05:13] so it was good to know that justine [00:05:14] already she does that in north [00:05:16] brookfield before it even gets turned [00:05:18] over to the tax collector so that [00:05:20] learning curve except for a little bit [00:05:22] tweaking of what the excel spreadsheet [00:05:23] is that is right off the back and start [00:05:26] of how she would close out the door at [00:05:27] the end of the night which may not seem [00:05:29] like much but it really is [00:05:31] one of the struggles we had with [00:05:32] somebody else was that just that excel [00:05:35] experience of what we're trying to prove [00:05:36] and what we're going to try out taya i [00:05:38] mean she's already familiar with that [00:05:41] and the excel spreadsheets that we do [00:05:42] with all of the tie-outs and all of the [00:05:45] different aspects of the job are very [00:05:47] similar so i think that that's going to [00:05:49] help her transition into it as well [00:05:52] i like it so [00:05:54] yeah [00:05:55] so i use it [00:05:56] which is great yeah because we use it a [00:05:58] lot yeah [00:06:07] yeah no i just um [00:06:11] so you've been you've been in north [00:06:12] brookfield for uh two years [00:06:15] been two and a half two yep and uh [00:06:18] why are you looking to change from not [00:06:20] fulfilled [00:06:22] they didn't want to give me insurance i [00:06:24] always worked part time [00:06:25] okay that's right i really need the [00:06:28] benefit sure yeah no that's important i [00:06:30] waited long enough [00:06:32] yeah yeah no well that's good [00:06:36] good for hardware yes [00:06:39] absolutely especially with the [00:06:40] experience that you have [00:06:57] no i already did i've already given that [00:06:59] much [00:07:10] only fair [00:07:27] yeah and i think so one of the things is [00:07:30] that if you're coming into [00:07:33] a situation that has historically been [00:07:37] had some [00:07:38] issues [00:07:40] and working through [00:07:42] getting through all those issues and [00:07:43] getting this product reconciled and [00:07:45] that's like important for us [00:07:47] making sure that both positions are the [00:07:50] positions being covered but also making [00:07:52] sure that things are up to date this has [00:07:54] a lot of eyes [00:07:56] looking at this and making sure that you [00:07:58] know [00:07:59] we do what we need to do and don't fall [00:08:00] on our face [00:08:02] um finance team and [00:08:04] not again not it's not personal it's not [00:08:07] personal things just historically for [00:08:09] many many years [00:08:18] it's good that you have experience so [00:08:19] that [00:08:21] you can sort of maybe help learn and [00:08:23] bring some things that you're doing [00:08:31] we're a small town [00:08:32] we're a small town so things you know [00:08:35] things are it can be a little informal i [00:08:37] think probably [00:08:38] probably [00:08:42] [Music] [00:08:53] yeah so that's sort of why um we wanted [00:08:57] sarah here just to give you guys an [00:08:59] update as well you know that we asked [00:09:01] for money um but i just wanted i don't [00:09:03] know you know exactly what they're doing [00:09:05] in the office but as they are doing you [00:09:08] know as they're working she's alone [00:09:10] still so you know she still comes in and [00:09:12] helps and [00:09:13] thankfully and as a hardwood resident [00:09:15] she has a lot of um [00:09:17] you know not only pride but she wants it [00:09:19] to run right right i mean it's your town [00:09:22] yes so um [00:09:24] so i just wanted her to you know them to [00:09:26] give an update on kind of what the [00:09:27] procedures that they were working on you [00:09:29] know how we had said that you know [00:09:31] there's some priorities and things like [00:09:32] that in that office and so they've been [00:09:34] working recently on that and so if you [00:09:36] want to take that away tell me what [00:09:39] you've already told me well well and i [00:09:41] didn't know um if justine was i didn't [00:09:43] know if you want to finish her interview [00:09:44] first before we went into what we're [00:09:46] what we've been accomplishing because [00:09:48] it's been a lot and i want to go over it [00:09:50] not thorough thorough but i want to be [00:09:52] understood so you have [00:09:53] questions so um [00:09:56] before i take over or if you want to [00:09:57] just finish up with justine so she [00:09:59] doesn't need to stay here do you have [00:10:00] any questions for us or anything that [00:10:01] you want to ask us i don't think so [00:10:04] she's answered most of yeah [00:10:06] yeah i think her and i've talked a lot [00:10:08] um [00:10:09] answer a lot of questions [00:10:11] i'm just really glad i feel relieved to [00:10:14] have you on board and have the [00:10:15] experience um [00:10:20] it is hard to get somebody with no [00:10:22] municipal experience [00:10:24] you know and and to train them from the [00:10:26] start there is [00:10:27] i think [00:10:28] especially in this department [00:10:30] it's really a niche it requires thorough [00:10:33] knowledge [00:10:35] you know and [00:10:36] even jessica when she came in she didn't [00:10:38] have it [00:10:39] she wasn't a treasure and she was just [00:10:41] kind of thrown into the role [00:10:43] so [00:10:45] it's it's been tough the whole financial [00:10:47] team's been tough as you know [00:10:49] so this is the only way for us to move [00:10:51] forward [00:10:53] and of course i recommend that you [00:10:55] approve who jessica wants as well [00:10:58] because operationally it will certainly [00:11:01] help us run smoother and more [00:11:03] efficiently and that's clear that's what [00:11:05] we want always [00:11:08] questions [00:11:12] so um rate of pay [00:11:15] all that kind of stuff what is that [00:11:18] okay um [00:11:20] it's the same as it was for the other [00:11:21] one yeah um we had approved it in the [00:11:24] media in the in the budget let me see [00:11:26] yeah i can go upstairs and grab that if [00:11:27] you need to yeah could you i don't i [00:11:29] don't know what the hourly it's 1836 or [00:11:32] i don't know exactly [00:11:36] and it's 32 hours [00:11:40] you know it's obviously full time so [00:11:41] it's benefited [00:11:44] and justine's also had so much [00:11:47] interaction with the people where she is [00:11:49] currently so i think that's another huge [00:11:52] piece of it so jess will be jessica will [00:11:55] be able to you know focus on the quiet [00:11:57] which is needed in the office but also [00:12:00] should be justine will be able to handle [00:12:02] you know people coming in for foot [00:12:03] traffic [00:12:04] yeah and the questions [00:12:06] that will be answered and radar is [00:12:08] really easy to learn so i think she will [00:12:11] have a problem [00:12:12] she has the knowledge of what a treasure [00:12:14] i mean a tax person might possibly ask [00:12:17] so then she would be able to just jump [00:12:19] right into vadar and answer and there's [00:12:21] a couple of different outlets to do it [00:12:22] so i think that's a huge benefit having [00:12:26] just a couple of years experiences is [00:12:28] really big being in that office [00:12:30] i'm looking forward to the [00:12:32] program because the one i use now is [00:12:35] horrible i use it [00:12:38] you have to look up every year [00:12:40] to get them taxed [00:12:43] or made our youth actually just look for [00:12:45] parson balance so right and actually can [00:12:47] print this sheet out for a personal [00:12:48] balance so it is a much more friendly [00:12:52] program so i think and again i find that [00:12:55] the program's the easy side to learn [00:12:57] it's [00:12:58] having answered tax payers questions how [00:13:00] to use your phone [00:13:02] so she's familiar with that i'm sure [00:13:04] after two years of having [00:13:11] [Laughter] [00:13:19] a function just subject to the [00:13:21] subject to the grade in the therapy yeah [00:13:23] i i would make a motion that we um [00:13:26] offer [00:13:27] justine [00:13:32] okay [00:13:39] um the position of treasurer collector [00:13:42] clark based on [00:13:43] all the um pre-employment new quarries [00:13:46] and stuff like that for 32 hours a week [00:13:50] at a 18 37 18 37 an hour [00:14:00] effective date effective immediately [00:14:02] effective immediately effective tomorrow [00:14:04] whenever you're starting [00:14:07] all of the paper [00:14:09] all right [00:14:11] excellent welcome aboard thank you thank [00:14:14] you for coming and meeting with us and [00:14:16] um look forward to saying all the great [00:14:19] things that you're gonna do the [00:14:20] department's gonna do [00:14:22] no pressure but [00:14:25] you won't regret it [00:14:27] i i can say that so thank you very much [00:14:30] thank you thank you i'll see you [00:14:32] tomorrow okay [00:14:33] nice i'll be in earlier but okay [00:14:36] thank you thank you so much [00:14:48] so [00:14:49] let me start bringing one ask questions [00:14:50] first um i i guess just if you can like [00:14:53] from our perspective [00:14:54] because there's a lot of eyes on [00:14:57] there's a lot of eyes on this department [00:14:59] because of what we have coming down the [00:15:00] road with usda and we really cannot [00:15:02] fault a lot of our base on this yes [00:15:04] because we've already been underneath [00:15:06] the microscope um [00:15:09] just you know what's i'll tell you [00:15:10] what's of interest to me making sure [00:15:12] we're getting reconciled with the date [00:15:14] we've been [00:15:16] significantly behind and again and this [00:15:18] is we're not talking about [00:15:20] you know we're not it's not trying to [00:15:21] point the finger it's just functioning [00:15:23] about an ongoing issue for [00:15:34] making sure that that process is [00:15:37] smoother [00:15:38] um that's what i'm interested in making [00:15:41] sure that we'll teleport and the fact [00:15:43] that we're going to need audits done [00:15:46] within [00:15:47] a very small smaller time frame than in [00:15:51] the past and [00:15:52] so i'm sorry i didn't see that face a [00:15:54] long time [00:15:55] so i want to interject real quick and [00:15:58] just say that [00:15:59] i was completely up to that date on [00:16:01] reconciliation and posting [00:16:03] in december and then ellen resigned [00:16:06] because she even asked me that well when [00:16:08] were you right last night i was like [00:16:10] yeah so the figures right um but [00:16:13] well so that throws a monkey and yeah i [00:16:15] think you can all understand when [00:16:17] something like that happens you're not [00:16:19] expecting that right and right [00:16:21] unforeseen so the past six months have [00:16:23] been [00:16:24] hard but i'm super proud of us and thank [00:16:26] god for sarah really because for both [00:16:28] what we as a team were yes [00:16:31] leaps and bounds in my opinion because [00:16:34] there's also conversion right there and [00:16:35] there's also hiccups with a lock box and [00:16:38] there's pickups for a software that one [00:16:40] of us knew that being picked up and [00:16:41] there were glitches in um not glitches [00:16:44] in the system but more of glitches of [00:16:46] users not knowing the system um and if [00:16:49] something doesn't you know get a number [00:16:51] then it just drops off so you know that [00:16:53] was a learning curve but you know we've [00:16:55] really the last few months a few weeks [00:16:58] actually [00:16:58] um [00:16:59] we had to focus on the priorities so we [00:17:01] knew that there were things that were [00:17:03] falling behind [00:17:04] you know and we understood that but we [00:17:07] know cash is the most important thing [00:17:09] and [00:17:10] that is what we've been honing in on [00:17:12] so because of that we are in may right [00:17:15] now that's where we are reconciled [00:17:16] you're not finished with may but we are [00:17:18] in in may [00:17:20] and [00:17:21] what that means is we've been able to [00:17:23] identify all the variances [00:17:25] we spoke with accounting because the way [00:17:28] it works is we [00:17:29] we need to know when we're going to post [00:17:31] because if you find items that have [00:17:33] variances or reconciling items we can't [00:17:35] just post them in february march because [00:17:38] we want to so accounting wants us to [00:17:40] wait till may which is fine um but that [00:17:43] so hopefully a lot of those things will [00:17:44] fall off [00:17:47] the postings that as we find things [00:17:50] i want to say that i understood why [00:17:52] jessica was posting things the way she [00:17:54] was posting because when i was here [00:17:57] there were [00:17:58] one of the big drives was there was a [00:18:01] disconnect with the departments um in [00:18:03] their turnovers and identifying them [00:18:05] from what i remember so when a county [00:18:07] had trained jessica which made sense you [00:18:09] want to make sure that every deposit [00:18:12] is matching every turnover so you know [00:18:15] they could track that there was [00:18:16] something missing so in theory that's [00:18:18] okay except for when you have 70 [00:18:20] different transactions of which our 10 [00:18:22] of them are 10 transactions and if they [00:18:24] cross months which one did we have to do [00:18:26] research which one never showed up or [00:18:28] which one was double perfect so [00:18:31] in theory reconciliation is really [00:18:33] really easy um everything the way [00:18:35] jessica was posting is a normal way of [00:18:37] posting under the circumstances so what [00:18:40] we've been working on is streamlining to [00:18:42] make sure that [00:18:43] everything that gets posted and i'm [00:18:45] sorry if i duplicate myself and saying [00:18:47] the same thing but i i [00:18:49] told jess so many times that she agrees [00:18:51] everything's a triangle three points [00:18:54] that match not just two because you can [00:18:55] always make two numbers match so to [00:18:57] streamline that we have to make sure [00:18:59] that [00:19:00] jess has to reach jessica and um [00:19:06] tina [00:19:07] are going to focus on the entries that [00:19:10] happen before it goes into vadar [00:19:13] and into the cash flow and what that'll [00:19:15] do is be able to reconcile [00:19:18] in a very short period of time which is [00:19:19] not what we want to do so we're [00:19:21] reconciling [00:19:22] like [00:19:23] on a weekly basis as we're posting [00:19:26] things is what sarah's teaching me to do [00:19:28] now which is [00:19:29] pretty incredible yes yeah and it's not [00:19:32] that i was doing it wrong before but i [00:19:34] wasn't yeah but i was but you're more on [00:19:36] top of it [00:19:42] so again when you're stuck in this this [00:19:44] all these [00:19:45] every time you have to do a 10 [00:19:46] transaction you know and i again i [00:19:48] understand why [00:19:50] that is including entering cashbook [00:19:52] reconciling to a bank statement making [00:19:54] sure it ties out printing out things to [00:19:56] this account there's a lot of work for [00:19:58] each one so you've consolidated so that [00:20:00] all turnovers are processed one day at [00:20:01] the end of the week we have our checks [00:20:03] and balance which has the excel [00:20:05] spreadsheet um and so we've been able to [00:20:08] to work on that at the same time as [00:20:10] reconciling um we've been looking at [00:20:12] women reconciling finding things that [00:20:15] were the big issues you know what is [00:20:16] causing us in these issues [00:20:18] you know when you have a lot of things [00:20:20] that's going to be closer to the wrong [00:20:22] things the information that was coming [00:20:23] from the collector's office you know and [00:20:25] i was part of that when you send it up [00:20:27] it gets a little convoluted of the way [00:20:29] the reports were run um so there was [00:20:32] room for error so we've been able to [00:20:34] kind of close the gap on that as well in [00:20:36] the new system that helps [00:20:39] having having beta and having that [00:20:40] collector's side [00:20:42] talk to the treasurer side is so helpful [00:20:44] and then you can also just pull stuff in [00:20:46] on not having to sit and enter things [00:20:49] and [00:20:49] you know that can cause errors right [00:20:51] there [00:20:52] um so that's what streamlining things [00:20:55] a lot and it's that checks and balance [00:20:57] when you've been just talking about all [00:20:58] the time so you have the first person [00:21:00] entering whomever that is and then [00:21:02] they're going to pull it over to jessica [00:21:04] and so then jessica has at that point [00:21:06] that information in front of her and she [00:21:08] we've even to the point um the packets [00:21:11] are all uniform you know it's another [00:21:14] thing that we talked about you have to [00:21:15] have consistency you don't want to have [00:21:18] this path be difficult in this pathway [00:21:20] because when you're reconciling you need [00:21:21] to find it and you're in the same spots [00:21:24] you're going to be doing the same things [00:21:26] simply when you're posting [00:21:28] taxpayers bills you know these small [00:21:31] things that nobody teaches you the small [00:21:33] things that are [00:21:34] seem like a not a big deal are actually [00:21:37] huge because we're taking care of it at [00:21:39] the base level so we talked about [00:21:42] reconciliation when you're doing [00:21:43] reconciliation you're e-deep in [00:21:45] reconciliation the last thing you want [00:21:46] to do is have to be like [00:21:48] i'm off and you have to get up you have [00:21:50] to find the packs you have to get here i [00:21:52] was going downstairs we're going [00:21:53] upstairs [00:21:56] that stops your brain or not from what [00:21:58] you're doing and that takes time to go [00:22:00] back to reconciliation after that so [00:22:03] what we talked about was you know having [00:22:06] scanning scanning is a huge piece of [00:22:08] this you tell me how much easier it is [00:22:10] not only for scanning to the account so [00:22:13] these packets we create they tie out we [00:22:16] have a cover sheet to tie them out then [00:22:18] we scan immediately as soon as they're [00:22:19] posted in radar we scan them upload them [00:22:22] to the shared drive to the [00:22:25] accountant which before the accountant [00:22:27] would have every department's turnovers [00:22:29] which is great which is kind of going to [00:22:31] talk about because really we shouldn't [00:22:32] be collecting those and we have been so [00:22:34] uh [00:22:35] fraud protection we've been [00:22:37] working with just it's not [00:22:39] we're okay here but whoever comes in [00:22:41] after us you need to protect the town [00:22:42] from those things but that's part of [00:22:45] months down the road when we're working [00:22:46] there um but [00:22:48] by scanning the whole entire packet to [00:22:50] our share drive because mind you this is [00:22:52] the treasurers and i've been drilling [00:22:55] this into jessica this is the trial we [00:22:56] were about the treasurer's office we [00:22:58] learned about the collector's office we [00:22:59] can aid departments and we were more [00:23:01] than willing to but we're not going to [00:23:02] do their job we have to follow our laws [00:23:04] we have to follow what's going to help [00:23:06] our cash work so i'm going back when we [00:23:09] scan in it's our pack it's our backup [00:23:12] it's all of the department turnovers [00:23:14] it's the treasurer stuff [00:23:16] we upload it to the share drive with [00:23:18] accounting so the captain will still get [00:23:20] their packs but what that's helping is i [00:23:23] mean [00:23:23] apologist could you guys know how many [00:23:25] times will the accounting firm say can [00:23:26] you send me this can you send me can you [00:23:28] send me that well not only do we have it [00:23:29] in our own share drive because as soon [00:23:31] as we submit we save it to ours we [00:23:33] uploaded it to them so one i don't think [00:23:35] we've gotten nearly any phone calls on [00:23:37] anything that we've been sending to them [00:23:39] which is a huge difference you know as [00:23:41] well as um you know if there's something [00:23:44] we totally have more reconciling right [00:23:46] look at all the time you're saying yeah [00:23:48] i'm telling you [00:23:58] [Music] [00:24:02] roughly a week extra i'm standing but [00:24:04] the time behind is safe yeah um it's [00:24:06] huge it is huge it really you have to [00:24:08] stop and look and [00:24:10] get through oh my gosh [00:24:13] yes and [00:24:14] what that's able for us to do is you [00:24:16] know we're not only learning these [00:24:17] little things because these little [00:24:19] tweaks you know i've had the luxury to [00:24:21] be in like 20 different towns so i can [00:24:23] actually pull from every town saying wow [00:24:26] that works great i can use this i didn't [00:24:28] include this you know i have the luxury [00:24:30] of talking to the state all the time and [00:24:31] saying you know what are your best [00:24:32] practices and they have them on the [00:24:34] website so i get that luxury other [00:24:36] people don't get that what they know is [00:24:38] what they know and so these small things [00:24:41] that we're implementing are going to be [00:24:43] huge and then that's going to open the [00:24:45] door for what justin and i were talking [00:24:47] about or just a minute ago fraud is one [00:24:49] of them you know let's start working on [00:24:51] fraud prevention that's a huge one you [00:24:53] know we were talking about um the other [00:24:55] day [00:24:56] we're gonna have to start reconciling [00:24:57] house receivable remind you when they [00:24:59] have when we get to accounting that's [00:25:01] going to be a whole nother bear cause we [00:25:02] have to reconcile all that stuff [00:25:04] but [00:25:05] people will teach the process and say [00:25:07] you need to have three copies one two [00:25:09] account and one to the treasurer one to [00:25:10] the collector but we're trying to take [00:25:12] it to the next level because she's going [00:25:13] to be a manager so we [00:25:15] started talking about okay these are the [00:25:17] three reports but let's look at these [00:25:19] three reports what's in these reports [00:25:21] that matter the tax collector does not [00:25:23] care about certain things the treasurer [00:25:25] doesn't care about certain things and [00:25:26] count [00:25:27] but what they do care about are the [00:25:29] general alleged numbers and i showed [00:25:30] just that these reports actually show [00:25:32] the general venture cover and it's [00:25:33] important if you're off uh so we're [00:25:35] moving like even to that direction [00:25:37] because when we start reconciling [00:25:39] accounts receivable i'm not just need to [00:25:40] look at crosstalks this is where you [00:25:42] find the prosthetics in the reports and [00:25:45] the collectors the collector doesn't [00:25:46] have the general ledger but it says the [00:25:48] detail well that detail doesn't match [00:25:51] what the accounting is posting you can [00:25:53] see the detail that's going to be your [00:25:55] process so that's the level like [00:25:57] eventually we're going to get to a lot [00:25:59] of things but we need to get a [00:26:00] streamlined down patch i believe [00:26:03] for the [00:26:04] few things we've done has been huge um [00:26:07] and then we're going to start building [00:26:08] on the bigger stuff which is going to [00:26:10] help her as a manager and as a treasurer [00:26:12] so you guys will have that [00:26:14] knowledge in the office [00:26:16] that you guys want because you're going [00:26:17] to want that and be able to run reports [00:26:19] and explain different things so you know [00:26:21] that's kind of what let me see what else [00:26:24] have you talked about um the stream [00:26:25] lighting which i think you guys see [00:26:27] we're working on that um but scheduling [00:26:29] as well so we've talked about scheduling [00:26:32] um we want repetition in the office so [00:26:34] we've already started working on this is [00:26:36] what has to be done on mondays this is [00:26:38] how we do them on mondays this is why we [00:26:40] do billboard mondays this is what we do [00:26:42] every thursday this is how you do it and [00:26:45] there's very specific things there's [00:26:47] specific reports there's specific [00:26:49] postings you have to do and we're [00:26:51] starting to break down this is [00:26:53] to the chalkboard upstairs we already [00:26:54] have like three of them filled up [00:26:56] of the things that we have to do and the [00:26:58] things that are going to be repetitious [00:27:00] so that you don't forget about you know [00:27:02] we created a debacle with the lock box [00:27:04] right [00:27:06] so but what we've created now is a [00:27:08] spreadsheet saying okay these are the [00:27:10] lock box is it a weekend did we get [00:27:13] anything in the mail in the in our [00:27:15] share drive you know we're matching [00:27:17] those things up and then at the end of [00:27:18] the week we pull up the big history we [00:27:22] pull up our lock box entries and they [00:27:24] match if they don't match then we can [00:27:26] represent we would have caught that and [00:27:27] that's something that would have been [00:27:28] caught we were on schedule within a [00:27:30] month and it wouldn't have been an issue [00:27:32] so you know those are the things [00:27:34] scheduling is a huge piece of it so [00:27:36] that's another thing that we've talked [00:27:38] about um talking about emails you know [00:27:41] in the morning i don't know if this is [00:27:42] the detail you want me to go into but in [00:27:44] the morning you know you got to check we [00:27:46] have to check our emails in the morning [00:27:47] in the afternoon and evening i recommend [00:27:49] adult check during the day you have so [00:27:51] many other things you have to focus on [00:27:52] if it's really important you're going to [00:27:54] call we'll talk about answering the [00:27:55] phone call if you can unless [00:27:57] excuse me obviously there's something [00:27:59] major you're doing but try and answer [00:28:01] the phone calls throughout the day so [00:28:03] that way you know people over there even [00:28:04] if it's interesting with somebody um so [00:28:07] yeah well now they'll have another [00:28:08] 32-hour person which was a problem [00:28:10] before obviously yeah she's all alone [00:28:12] and she saw people want to come here [00:28:18] like we've got to make sure that those [00:28:19] are just because again it stops the [00:28:21] number of emails if you answer one then [00:28:23] you won't get four from the same person [00:28:25] after because nobody got two for two [00:28:26] weeks i'm jumping in for just a second [00:28:28] so i think i i think i needed [00:28:30] that extra structure and i would love to [00:28:33] continue to have that because [00:28:35] because everything was a priority to me [00:28:37] and i was [00:28:39] all over the place and i was trying to [00:28:40] do so many things every day and it's so [00:28:42] nice to kind of have that structure and [00:28:45] be like [00:28:46] it's better if you do well that's how [00:28:47] you burn out [00:28:48] yeah you don't want to [00:28:50] because i know it's very important like [00:28:52] on mondays i do abcd yes tuesdays i do [00:28:56] yeah i mean it's the same almost every [00:28:58] week unless something pops up and it [00:29:00] makes it run smooth yeah and i needed [00:29:03] that yeah well then also like that the [00:29:05] help with [00:29:07] departments are telling her what to do [00:29:10] and it affects our job like so so [00:29:12] departments will come in and be like i [00:29:13] need this done right now and it seems [00:29:15] really really important and it is [00:29:17] important but like i said suggest you [00:29:19] know [00:29:19] there's department that wants to do [00:29:21] something well it affected our cross [00:29:22] here so it screwed up our cross here and [00:29:25] we had to do a lot more work [00:29:27] and i understood their side but and i'm [00:29:28] not saying we wouldn't do it but i think [00:29:31] those types of situations i'm trying to [00:29:32] having more like procedures and like [00:29:35] what i'm looking for yeah yeah like i [00:29:37] need i need that i need all that [00:29:38] structure yeah and so so the departments [00:29:41] understand our sign as well so again in [00:29:43] when we talked i think it was talking [00:29:45] about you know there are times that [00:29:46] there are going to be two [00:29:48] departments that are contradicting their [00:29:50] needs you know but what we have to do as [00:29:53] a town is say which is the least [00:29:55] financial impact of the town and that's [00:29:57] what you go with you know and that is [00:29:58] actually quoted from the lawyer the day [00:30:00] of dls anytime you have two [00:30:02] contradicting things you go through this [00:30:04] financial impact of the town somebody is [00:30:06] not going to like it somebody's it's [00:30:07] actually sometimes one might even be i [00:30:10] say the word illegal likely because it's [00:30:12] not like [00:30:13] detrimental it gets done but whether [00:30:15] it's this fiscal year next fiscal year [00:30:17] if it's a deficit account versus labor [00:30:19] class so those are the things too that i [00:30:22] want just to have the backing to say i [00:30:24] understand what you guys want can you [00:30:26] sit down and say this is what i mean [00:30:28] let's work it together instead of just [00:30:30] being told you have to do this for [00:30:32] multiple accounts [00:30:34] multiple departments and then you know [00:30:36] she has a little knowledge behind it and [00:30:38] understandable so that's where the [00:30:39] schedule comes in you know we want our [00:30:41] weekly turnovers [00:30:43] a department comes in they say month [00:30:44] their money and deposited today well [00:30:46] that's great unless you have a really [00:30:47] good reason i'm not going to do it [00:30:49] because that is [00:30:50] three or four extra steps that both we [00:30:52] have to do with the account has to do [00:30:53] and is it really worth it to do it [00:30:56] or i don't know they might have a great [00:30:58] reason maybe the person is always [00:30:59] delinquent maybe they always bounce [00:31:01] checks and they know the money's in the [00:31:02] account and we're going to run to the [00:31:03] bank those are things that you know [00:31:05] we're not being [00:31:06] definite but we need to work on so so [00:31:08] scheduling is a really big uh really big [00:31:10] piece of it um postings again up top [00:31:14] actually right now we're just in the [00:31:15] middle of posting [00:31:17] today's work so [00:31:18] everything the only thing that's not is [00:31:20] jeffrey and jeffrey but that is because [00:31:23] with the conversion the older years [00:31:25] aren't in there and so they don't we [00:31:27] have to get them to somehow i and i [00:31:28] don't know how to do this but we have to [00:31:30] somehow [00:31:41] yeah so um so that to me [00:31:45] and is other thing so demands are up to [00:31:47] date commitments have been out um [00:31:49] actually right now we're getting stuffed [00:31:51] are the letters [00:31:52] they're pre-lettered to advertise so [00:31:54] because we know there's like that hiccup [00:31:56] we're trying to be courteous to the [00:31:57] taxpayers so we are actually sending a [00:32:00] letter just saying hey justlyn you know [00:32:01] fy22 you guys have a delinquency you [00:32:04] need to to pay it and then they have 15 [00:32:07] days and then if they don't pay by [00:32:08] september 1st we're actually going to [00:32:10] send them a letter to advertise we will [00:32:12] do the two and so tax titles are going [00:32:14] to happen as well so thank god jessica [00:32:16] did in all of the midst of all as [00:32:18] jessica did um the tax lead auction [00:32:20] which brought revenue to you guys so [00:32:22] that was really good so we're keeping up [00:32:24] with those types of things as well um [00:32:43] um [00:32:45] so i think the last thing is [00:32:48] um [00:32:49] you probably are wondering what we're [00:32:50] doing is actually working right [00:32:52] because i'm sure you've heard it before [00:32:53] oh yeah we're doing great considering [00:32:56] i said from our standpoint we've spent a [00:32:58] lot of money on that department to still [00:33:01] see [00:33:02] people struggle with it because the [00:33:04] training wasn't adequate no not no fault [00:33:06] of your stress on her or anyone else [00:33:08] that's been in that department [00:33:10] and so the training hasn't been there [00:33:12] right i agree yeah so the good news is [00:33:15] on [00:33:17] friday so friday we took the day um [00:33:20] and made sure we said before we start [00:33:22] check back into reconciliation on [00:33:23] saturday [00:33:24] we were going to get everything posted [00:33:26] everything that we had make sure we [00:33:28] triple checked everything had everything [00:33:30] we did so we actually took july and we [00:33:33] grant our bank statements for july and [00:33:36] within [00:33:41] how long does it normally take us to [00:33:42] reconcile it's taking eight to twelve [00:33:44] hours right now eight to twelve hour [00:33:46] bank account yeah [00:33:48] so that's how it's been going so these [00:33:50] tweaks we've been doing these these [00:33:52] the time and energy we're spending at [00:33:54] the base of all the entries we were able [00:33:57] to um again quick reconciliation i'm not [00:34:00] saying we didn't do the ap in the [00:34:02] payroll which actually would be easy [00:34:03] just has that down pat [00:34:05] but it's the ones that are a lot more [00:34:07] and you are able to within one hour just [00:34:09] to reconcile the activity within it so i [00:34:12] think that says ups and downs for what [00:34:13] we've already accomplished in a month [00:34:15] right now [00:34:17] um and that's only going to improve so [00:34:20] the goal now is to maintain the [00:34:22] variances that we have and then i [00:34:24] suggest to jessica what you want to do [00:34:26] is you want to say okay i'm going to [00:34:28] take this bank account and i'm going to [00:34:30] try and find three or four of these [00:34:31] variances or these items that have been [00:34:33] sitting there for a while and i'm going [00:34:35] to reconcile because now you don't have [00:34:36] a whole month you only have one or two [00:34:38] and we're going to try and clean those [00:34:39] up if we can't get to it at the end of [00:34:41] the year as long as we maintain that [00:34:43] variance we will then go to the auditor [00:34:45] or the accounting firm we're going to [00:34:46] ask them if we can write off those those [00:34:49] variances and the good thing with that [00:34:50] is in most of my communities even though [00:34:53] we write them off there's two different [00:34:54] ways to do it we can just simply write [00:34:56] it off or i've actually in one community [00:34:58] which we may want to do here [00:35:00] is ask them to put in a holding place in [00:35:02] the general ledger so basically as [00:35:04] people come in and say somebody had an [00:35:06] excise bill for whatever reason didn't [00:35:07] get posted accurately a year ago um if [00:35:10] they come in and they have proof of [00:35:12] payment we need somewhere to offset that [00:35:14] when we have this account this general [00:35:16] ledger account that we'll be able to go [00:35:18] to and say and we'll have a list of all [00:35:20] of our dates that they were variances [00:35:22] deposits or whatever and we can go back [00:35:24] to that and say you know what you're [00:35:26] right do you have somewhere where we can [00:35:27] take it and it's not taking it's [00:35:29] reconcile that that item so that's those [00:35:32] are the two different options and i also [00:35:33] want to say there's small variances it's [00:35:35] not like anything big out there it's a [00:35:37] little things here and there that we're [00:35:39] like what's this few cents or a couple [00:35:41] bucks or whatever and you know and [00:35:43] sometimes it's also cost efficient not [00:35:46] to spend hours and hours trying to find [00:35:47] two dollars so you just move forward yes [00:35:50] um yeah the variances and that's why [00:35:52] it's i'm not worried about it because [00:35:54] and a lot of them i think actually wash [00:35:56] out i was able to pull a sun that washed [00:35:58] out from once a month but then they're [00:36:00] off that speaking of that ten dollars [00:36:01] but i find that a lot like it could be [00:36:03] that just that ten dollars so so yeah [00:36:05] it's not a huge amount of time i just [00:36:07] want to make [00:36:08] make a point of that yeah i know i've [00:36:11] said to them [00:36:12] you know as a selectman i would be [00:36:15] you know i would be losing it like all [00:36:17] this money to make this department run [00:36:20] the way it's supposed to run shouldn't [00:36:21] it already be running like that [00:36:23] but it hasn't [00:36:25] and i also want to interject and say [00:36:27] that i love hard work and i want to stay [00:36:30] here and i'm super happy to you know to [00:36:33] have this position um and i feel so [00:36:35] blessed and lucky to have it and take [00:36:37] this on and um [00:36:39] you know you guys are investing in me [00:36:41] in the town i'm going to stay here [00:36:43] for hopefully a very long time and i'm [00:36:46] not planning on going anywhere you know [00:36:47] i'm 10 minutes away from my house it's [00:36:48] awesome i love it um [00:36:50] and i love all the people i work with so [00:36:53] i feel like you know investing in sarah [00:36:55] is investing in me is investing in the [00:36:56] town for a long period of time so i just [00:36:59] want to say that i think for me too [00:37:02] one of the things is reporting so we can [00:37:05] get periodic reporting finance should be [00:37:07] getting reports okay um i don't think [00:37:10] you're getting reports now sure are you [00:37:12] guys getting reports um i was getting [00:37:15] them monthly up until then [00:37:19] which makes sense [00:37:20] okay and and so for me it'd be nice to [00:37:22] see reporting in finance and maybe it [00:37:24] comes up to the board level so we know [00:37:26] where we're at [00:37:27] um [00:37:28] and [00:37:30] um then we can run you know reports and [00:37:32] say where we're at with budget [00:37:34] just so that it's it's hard to look at [00:37:36] things and compare where you are budget [00:37:39] if things aren't boosted up [00:37:41] because they're not accurate you're [00:37:42] looking at something you're not [00:37:43] comparing the same things [00:37:45] actually i do get i do get the reports i [00:37:48] have been [00:37:54] yeah so just being at making sure that [00:37:56] everything is current [00:37:58] and then maybe doing another check-in [00:38:00] like in a month or [00:38:02] maybe mid-september yeah monthly would [00:38:04] be smart you know because there's a lot [00:38:06] invested in this right now and we can [00:38:09] there's going to be struggles we're [00:38:10] going to have like we only talked about [00:38:13] cash but accounts receivable i'm that's [00:38:16] going to be a struggle for us to [00:38:17] reconcile i mean we've been able to 22 [00:38:19] is what we have to focus on we were able [00:38:21] to find a lot of the abatements between [00:38:23] chef again another thing abatements [00:38:25] which was a concern we were able to get [00:38:27] those posted and actually jump and ask [00:38:29] for right yes and to be able to go to [00:38:31] people the real estate will be going up [00:38:33] shortly um i have to practice it with [00:38:35] jenna we have to sit with jen to verify [00:38:38] those um so there are big hurdles we [00:38:42] still have to come it's not over just [00:38:44] because we're getting cash caught up if [00:38:46] that's great [00:38:48] but accounts receivable is a huge piece [00:38:50] that we are going to have to tackle and [00:38:52] i cannot tell you how much that's going [00:38:54] to take because i know we did a [00:38:56] preliminary i had my staff do a [00:38:58] preliminary of the maze accounts [00:39:00] receivable because that's when the [00:39:02] conversion was done and i [00:39:05] i i'm not able to tie out most of the [00:39:07] activity anyway so not that it's not [00:39:09] going to be a little done we're just [00:39:10] going to have to take the two pieces and [00:39:12] all of this stuff is there we just have [00:39:14] to have it come together so um i just [00:39:17] want you to be aware of that there are [00:39:19] going to be hurdles but i think if you [00:39:20] can meet monthly we can tell you great [00:39:22] this is work done but this is where [00:39:24] we're a stalemate and you know we have [00:39:26] to spend the 12 18 24 hours on this [00:39:29] accounts receivable because of x y and z [00:39:32] so i think the transparency would be [00:39:34] better if we could be hardly um you know [00:39:36] and then jess can also explain more what [00:39:38] she's been doing um what she's you know [00:39:41] seeing as hurdles from what was before [00:39:43] and things like that so yeah i think [00:39:46] another um you know in another few weeks [00:39:49] and monthly jessica will be the one to [00:39:51] you know that's will determine her [00:39:53] knowledge as well she's the one that's [00:39:55] explaining [00:39:56] everything that you're doing in the [00:39:57] office [00:39:58] you know and also i mean hopefully we're [00:40:00] going to get to a point where actual [00:40:02] people come to the department have [00:40:03] meetings [00:40:04] and and i get reports [00:40:06] that i can share with you at our meeting [00:40:08] so we it's not like so much um [00:40:12] redundancy you know like here's our p [00:40:14] here's everybody's report [00:40:16] and this is what they're doing this [00:40:18] month there's you know that's in our but [00:40:20] in our inner meetings it doesn't happen [00:40:22] i don't really get a lot of people [00:40:24] coming to the meetings so you know [00:40:26] hopefully as that changes [00:40:28] um you know then we'll have them that [00:40:30] way but right now why it's this brand [00:40:32] new transition [00:40:34] into a new department [00:40:36] i think it's great that we'll have them [00:40:37] come to one of our meetings a month [00:40:41] for now you know and i i noticed so the [00:40:44] other night um joseph can speak on this [00:40:46] i was [00:40:47] this is how i know things are working [00:40:49] because jessica is now [00:40:51] we've gotten to a point where jessica [00:40:52] can start [00:40:54] thinking [00:40:55] about what the position is so if you [00:40:57] want to tell him some of the things we [00:40:58] talked about how your idea is sherry has [00:41:01] ideas about capital planning things like [00:41:02] that about the taxes tax titles and you [00:41:05] know different things yeah it's nice to [00:41:08] not be [00:41:09] like kind of feel like you're treading [00:41:11] water and and i feel like [00:41:13] lately i've been able to kind of take a [00:41:15] breath and be like there's other things [00:41:17] that i want to do like we have [00:41:19] you know i'd love to do you know some [00:41:21] investing and you know things that i [00:41:23] treasure is supposed to do or look at [00:41:25] some of the [00:41:26] buildings that we have in town and [00:41:27] tackle some of that kind of stuff [00:41:29] um so yeah it just made me feel like [00:41:32] like i kind of had a little weight [00:41:33] lifted off me and it's like okay now i [00:41:35] can look at some other things too and [00:41:37] maybe add some other projects in [00:41:39] yeah i would recommend we get this solid [00:41:42] yes yes absolutely yeah [00:41:53] and get further along with with once [00:41:57] this stuff is done that she's had like [00:41:59] she just said she has a vision to have a [00:42:01] vision is huge to know that these are [00:42:03] the things that you want to do um but [00:42:05] it's a long way before we get there it's [00:42:08] true [00:42:09] and treasurer should be investing a way [00:42:12] of cash flow that doesn't get any [00:42:13] invested at all it's like [00:42:15] you know when i asked her what kind of [00:42:16] investing she's like what are you [00:42:17] talking about like i heard about when i [00:42:19] worked for this is years ago but they [00:42:22] literally made a deposit every night [00:42:23] that made money overnight yes [00:42:28] yeah [00:42:28] and so the money that wasn't being used [00:42:30] on a daily basis got invested [00:42:32] every night [00:42:34] so we'll get there yeah yeah yeah we [00:42:36] will that's all we're looking for is [00:42:38] revenue every day [00:42:42] yeah so a lot a lot last week right we [00:42:45] met last week i don't even know what day [00:42:47] it is [00:42:48] we had two figures in front of us for [00:42:50] this training it was like 35 and then it [00:42:52] was 50. yes and i think we paused [00:42:54] because [00:42:55] obviously that was [00:42:57] too right [00:42:58] and [00:42:59] um and i'm sorry i'm jumping in so [00:43:02] you know [00:43:03] we have invested a lot into this [00:43:05] department so [00:43:07] it's you know julie made the comment [00:43:08] like we need to know it's gonna work but [00:43:11] yes invest [00:43:13] more money [00:43:15] absolutely [00:43:16] it was what did we do 10 000 right [00:43:20] because we did [00:43:23] originally when she first was hired [00:43:25] right [00:43:26] yeah it was supposed to be six weeks [00:43:28] right yeah right because that's all i [00:43:29] had about right yep [00:43:32] so i know somebody's salary i mean it's [00:43:35] crazy but i see no other way [00:43:38] thank god we have i don't know how to [00:43:40] train her like thank god we have this so [00:43:42] i'm hoping you know eventually [00:43:44] nobody's ever gotten i think [00:43:46] good solid training right [00:43:49] and the reason that that was there [00:43:51] the only reason that was there is [00:43:53] because [00:43:54] that quote said [00:43:56] not to exceed [00:43:57] and the reason that [00:43:59] i have learned in the past after [00:44:02] the weekend that we spent what i saw [00:44:05] what i saw in [00:44:07] what how long things were taken [00:44:09] my feeling my feeling was it is easier [00:44:12] to say you know what i didn't use [00:44:13] fifteen thousand here you go then come [00:44:15] to you guys in four months and say [00:44:19] we're struggling i need fifteen thousand [00:44:21] dollars more so i am more of a realist [00:44:24] and i do not like to come back to the [00:44:25] boards and i do not like to come back to [00:44:27] the towns and say it's more money um you [00:44:30] know i did the same thing in holyoke and [00:44:32] i said up to fifty pounds okay they're [00:44:34] bigger don't get me wrong but i actually [00:44:36] only did 28 000 and that's all i built [00:44:38] before so you know we [00:44:41] it and i understand i'm not trying to [00:44:44] belittle any of it i'm just trying to [00:44:45] let you know on my side that's how i've [00:44:47] learned the best solution to the [00:44:50] situation and that's the 35 was original [00:44:52] but then when you sat down and it took [00:44:54] us [00:44:55] three fourths [00:44:57] days it was long it was long so that's [00:45:00] that's kind of where we came up with [00:45:01] that [00:45:06] so that's it just wanted to give you a [00:45:08] quick update [00:45:09] because [00:45:10] you know the um [00:45:12] interview was already tonight so just [00:45:14] food for your thoughts [00:45:18] do we but do we still have money for [00:45:20] sarah to continue [00:45:22] helping and work right like unless we [00:45:27] need to decide [00:45:30] right [00:45:43] well i didn't put it on the agenda so [00:45:45] with anything [00:45:47] on next week and the eighth i think i [00:45:49] would think about [00:45:51] maybe [00:45:52] putting it there [00:45:54] so what if we do it in steps so what [00:45:56] about if we allocate a certain amount [00:45:58] and see where you're at yep [00:46:00] so um [00:46:02] can you so with for next week's meeting [00:46:04] can you give us an idea where we are so [00:46:06] far [00:46:07] with what we've spent [00:46:08] um and then [00:46:10] let's do check-in points so maybe we [00:46:13] specifically those the next check-in and [00:46:15] then we're going to have two months yeah [00:46:19] yeah [00:46:20] yeah so and i'm just gonna back up just [00:46:22] for a minute so basically right now the [00:46:24] push has been these last few weekends [00:46:27] and then it's going to be basically one [00:46:29] day a week it's not coming weekends [00:46:31] anymore you know because the push was [00:46:32] for the cash [00:46:33] so if you're going to see a significant [00:46:35] drop off to basically being the one day [00:46:37] a week check into her at if you find [00:46:40] that there's like an issue or like a [00:46:42] huge step when you walk my idea would be [00:46:44] like to say jess [00:46:46] can we do a friday or saturday so we can [00:46:49] nip it in the mud [00:46:50] but the goal is to kind of stay ahead of [00:46:52] it so [00:46:54] after last weekend maybe one more [00:46:56] weekend of a long weekend but preferably [00:46:58] it will be one day a week and then [00:47:01] you'll be here with the with them with [00:47:03] the team yes yeah yeah so [00:47:06] we're basically [00:47:07] what i like to do is i like to basically [00:47:09] have an action plan say okay what [00:47:11] happened this week [00:47:12] you know put that together and work on [00:47:14] that next week or we'll come up with an [00:47:16] idea and then when i come back okay how [00:47:18] did this go what did you see with the [00:47:20] issues and you know i have a list of [00:47:23] items that does change so these are my [00:47:25] priorities these are the things we need [00:47:26] to get done we get to talk to accounting [00:47:29] um and so week by week that's how we'll [00:47:31] deal with it you know what did you [00:47:32] improve on what did you struggle with [00:47:34] let's work with this let's go forward um [00:47:36] is there something that you guys need [00:47:38] visit or something pushing for [00:47:39] accounting so yes i will be here it will [00:47:42] be me and i'll be here um the one day [00:47:44] with both of them and then it might be [00:47:46] talked about probably a thursday because [00:47:49] thursday is one of 24 cents we're [00:47:50] closing out the week and that's mondays [00:47:53] are too chaotic so that was our thought [00:47:56] and then like i said if we needed to go [00:47:57] another day and we could just [00:48:00] for that particularly [00:48:03] yeah [00:48:04] just to just to well-round the [00:48:06] department and it's a new department [00:48:08] um and uh yeah obviously not gonna stand [00:48:10] forever so it'll just be until jessica's [00:48:13] well i mean i obviously i want you to be [00:48:15] aggressive in learning this because [00:48:17] you know it's it is the job that you're [00:48:19] hired for so [00:48:21] um you know [00:48:22] the um tina who has experience yes will [00:48:26] will help just bring it all together yes [00:48:28] right yeah [00:48:30] and i think it's [00:48:32] i don't know i i just jessica zara has [00:48:34] already learned quite a bit but she's [00:48:36] already knew a lot it was more about [00:48:38] being able to just look she's like [00:48:40] prioritizing and making her not like [00:48:42] not making everything an emergency just [00:48:44] because someone came in and was like [00:48:45] yeah [00:48:52] [Applause] [00:48:55] and then [00:48:56] let's [00:48:57] look a month out based on your schedule [00:48:59] maybe you can let nicole know what that [00:49:02] dollar amount's going to look like okay [00:49:04] i know you won't be here that's fine but [00:49:06] that's why i'm giving you what i can [00:49:08] vote on that i do i do feel that this is [00:49:10] important so i'm just i'm putting my two [00:49:12] cents in now so [00:49:14] you guys know i'm gonna be honest with [00:49:16] you i this is where i learned for [00:49:18] negotiating so i actually loved it but [00:49:20] nobody has ever approached me about that [00:49:22] for my services so i like that idea of [00:49:25] saying okay this this week or this month [00:49:28] what where are you at whether someone is [00:49:30] what do you anticipate and then then [00:49:32] build on that so that's actually a very [00:49:33] good good way to do that yeah just so we [00:49:35] can plan some things because [00:49:38] um in the past like i can just use the [00:49:40] account outside account and none of us [00:49:42] were involved in that but [00:49:44] you know we got two 25 000 bills and it [00:49:46] was like how did that happen [00:49:48] and that's not good management for mars [00:49:50] right right so if we can figure out [00:49:52] where you're at yeah where do you think [00:49:53] you're going to be and then yeah [00:50:38] there was a documentary done a woman she [00:50:40] was a treasurer collector comptroller in [00:50:42] michigan or illinois the first lady yeah [00:50:45] rita so 54 million dollars yes and went [00:50:49] to federal prison and she lives back in [00:50:51] the town again that's wonderful that's [00:50:52] one of [00:51:05] departments have to do this not to be [00:51:07] mean accounting needs to get those forms [00:51:09] from them we should not be giving those [00:51:11] awards over no and that's what i [00:51:12] definitely want better procedures you [00:51:14] know in the town as well well it sounds [00:51:16] like you guys are working on it yeah oh [00:51:19] yeah [00:51:20] i think you need to [00:51:22] get everything squared away and then we [00:51:24] can push it [00:51:26] through the top but until you guys are [00:51:28] squared away yeah it's it's really hard [00:51:30] to say this is the procedure [00:51:32] if you don't if you're not really yeah [00:51:36] yeah so you're figuring out what works [00:51:38] and obviously it sounds like it's [00:51:39] working [00:51:40] you know what you're doing already and [00:51:41] somebody came in to me and he was [00:51:43] complaining about the building inspector [00:51:45] he's like well i've already told jessica [00:51:46] everything and i'm like why [00:51:48] like why like why would you even go up [00:51:50] there [00:51:51] well i thought i needed i'm like no [00:51:54] totally come to me [00:51:55] no no [00:51:58] yes yeah you know nice enough not to [00:52:01] to say [00:52:02] my job but you know there's a lot of [00:52:04] things i'll go up to see jessica i'm [00:52:06] like why right right [00:52:09] jessica's listen yeah that's because you [00:52:11] have boundaries too yeah yeah [00:52:14] you guys have a good person working in [00:52:15] this town [00:52:16] i have left towns i'm telling you right [00:52:18] now i've left towns when somebody is in [00:52:21] the department that i feel is either [00:52:23] untrainable or [00:52:25] i don't travel just has no desire so [00:52:27] when you find somebody who has the [00:52:29] talent you want to help and and i [00:52:32] can give you the names of the towns that [00:52:34] i've left because of that so know that [00:52:36] it's not no and i and jessica knows i [00:52:38] think she hasn't been championing her [00:52:41] yes and and to the selectmen i've you [00:52:43] know really definitely come to bat [00:52:45] knowing that she's capable of it yes [00:52:47] she's just gonna have the right tools in [00:52:48] your toolbox yeah right yeah i'm a firm [00:52:51] believer of that with any one of us yes [00:52:54] you don't have the right tools [00:52:56] you can't do it yeah [00:53:00] i think i mean not to toot my own horn [00:53:02] but like i i think i've done a good job [00:53:04] so far but yeah like but i could be much [00:53:07] more [00:53:08] efficient i can be much more you know [00:53:10] yeah so [00:53:11] it's nice to like you said have the [00:53:12] right tools and [00:53:14] i'm still i'm proud of myself for [00:53:16] everything that i've gotten done these [00:53:18] past six months [00:53:20] i feel like i've [00:53:21] for the most part stayed on top of [00:53:22] everything other than reconciliation but [00:53:24] that's what we spent the majority of our [00:53:26] time doing we're caught up now yeah um [00:53:28] but yeah i did demands i did the tax [00:53:31] time [00:53:31] i mean i did your department yeah i [00:53:34] really was busting my butt so well i see [00:53:36] your car here endlessly i'm like the [00:53:38] girl's always here yeah because i care i [00:53:41] want to do a good job like this but we [00:53:43] don't want burnout either right there's [00:53:44] two sides to that yeah so you can yeah [00:53:48] no and do it don't do it but you know [00:53:50] you don't you don't want to see anyone [00:53:51] burn out yep and i [00:53:53] i do think if i didn't have sarah here i [00:53:56] might [00:53:56] hurt myself out i think having her here [00:53:59] yeah i needed that [00:54:02] so can we do a check in august is sort [00:54:04] of a busy look you're gonna be away [00:54:06] through and then the 22nd we have the [00:54:10] so can we schedule a check-in for [00:54:12] september 12th [00:54:15] that would be our next meeting right [00:54:17] we have a water meeting that night we do [00:54:19] in the earlier six and then and then we [00:54:22] go right into our okay just a quick it [00:54:23] doesn't give me a quick check i have a [00:54:26] meeting at six but usually done by 6 30 [00:54:28] so i could probably be here by like six [00:54:31] tenths i mean 6 45 yeah [00:54:39] [Music] [00:54:42] so just to be clear what [00:54:45] are there reports you're wanting us to [00:54:47] run so you can see things are there you [00:54:50] know we can actually can present where [00:54:52] we are at reconciliation we can we can [00:54:54] do almost an example of [00:54:57] um our process joe just can present what [00:55:00] she's known like what are you i just [00:55:01] because i wanna make sure that you guys [00:55:03] you know get what you're looking for and [00:55:06] leave knowing that what we're doing [00:55:08] let's present more of it to kind of show [00:55:10] like [00:55:11] uh [00:55:12] what i've learned i don't know i don't [00:55:14] think we need to get that granular i [00:55:16] think just a global life and only [00:55:19] there's three of us my opinion is [00:55:21] where are we at with reconciling [00:55:23] what you know [00:55:24] where [00:55:26] just i think for our next meeting which [00:55:28] is next week if you could just give us [00:55:30] where we're at financially where you [00:55:32] think we're gonna be [00:55:47] around the corner right right so that [00:55:49] that's all coming so it would be good to [00:55:51] maybe have a little pulse on that so on [00:55:53] that i don't know if you're familiar [00:55:54] with the time frames but typically [00:55:56] accounting has a lot to do even once we [00:55:58] reconcile september even before [00:56:01] september they can't do anything because [00:56:02] there are actual funds that come in so [00:56:04] that's the other thing i want to be [00:56:05] clear is like the accounting once we're [00:56:08] done well the majority of something they [00:56:10] do a lot they have a ton to do [00:56:12] afterwards so it's not like being just [00:56:14] like a flip side [00:56:18] we're always asking and it's like oh [00:56:19] it's coming oh well we're close or you [00:56:21] know you know then we kind of feel like [00:56:23] what's this you know yes yes no that's a [00:56:25] good and [00:56:27] we can show where we are with [00:56:28] reconciliation cash accounts receivable [00:56:31] statement of a deadness all of those [00:56:33] things we can give you an update on [00:56:35] where we're at so absolutely okay yeah [00:56:37] just very high level yeah [00:56:44] thank you for coming thank you guys it's [00:56:46] a pleasure it's nice to see the movement [00:56:49] it's nice to see the progress yeah you [00:56:51] know it just works her head off [00:56:54] she really does do a good job what i can [00:56:56] she knows [00:56:57] she knows her stuff it's she knows it so [00:57:01] there's no doubt it's going to work out [00:57:03] very very well for you guys and you'll [00:57:04] be happy when this is done so great [00:57:07] thank you thank you [00:57:12] you do we like so i don't do we know [00:57:14] when my office might be moving no i'm [00:57:17] waiting to get a quote from the phones i [00:57:19] can't do anything into the phones [00:57:20] and uh and then i want you to believe me [00:57:23] and we have to figure out a [00:57:24] configuration that's going to work where [00:57:26] nobody can get past like [00:57:28] we need some sort of barrier [00:57:30] because obviously in all the tax [00:57:32] collectors offices that i know [00:57:34] you cannot get back there [00:57:36] and here you just walk right in so i'm [00:57:39] going to have some sort of we think we [00:57:41] have like a whole show [00:57:44] okay that's one of my favorites [00:57:46] okay [00:57:46] all right good no no we'll we'll work on [00:57:48] that okay [00:57:50] i'll talk to you more about it tomorrow [00:57:51] because i should be getting a quote [00:57:53] because we did approve the moving [00:57:57] yes [00:58:00] i can't go putting you downstairs in the [00:58:02] other planning [00:58:03] is fine right so okay [00:58:18] she's explained everything so well [00:58:19] although i'm like what's posting what's [00:58:21] i don't know any of it but you know so [00:58:23] she's it's just there it sounds like [00:58:25] they're headed in the right direction [00:58:26] so we're going to vote on that [00:58:28] yeah [00:58:30] that's why i brought it up [00:58:32] right i am going to have it on every [00:58:33] meeting just because as we go along [00:58:36] where we want to at least allocate [00:58:37] something more [00:58:38] so that she can keep i mean [00:58:42] you know [00:58:47] it's hourly so it's definitely not just [00:58:50] a blanket amount it's absolutely hourly [00:58:53] and for the most part i ask her if [00:58:55] anybody if any of your other employees [00:58:57] can do it please have them do it and not [00:58:59] her because she charges more because her [00:59:02] her high level of expertise but [00:59:04] perfectly honestly i think jess [00:59:07] has a relationship with that [00:59:10] it would be good i think to someone else [00:59:12] to step in yeah i think it's very [00:59:14] helpful in sarah that's that's right [00:59:24] yeah exactly and that's what obviously [00:59:26] the goal is to get her out of here as [00:59:28] quick as possible but to give jessica [00:59:30] you know what she needs find that [00:59:32] um [00:59:33] you know like [00:59:34] she said tina had her way of doing [00:59:37] things and just once they can sink [00:59:40] like you know it should be yes yep [00:59:49] carol did you have anything i just came [00:59:51] to get a copy of the water [00:59:54] i know did you make them did you make it [00:59:57] to a german oh i accepted that