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Editor’s note: This is the third in a series explaining the 34 proposed charter amendments facing residents on the November ballot.
WESTERLY — Many of the recommendations from the Charter Revision Commission stem from recent events and controversies, including questions about the decision to consolidate the municipal and School Department finance director positions.
Questions 17 - 22, which voters will encounter on the Nov. 8 ballot, all concern either the finance director or the finance department. Both have been hot topics in recent years as members of the Town Council and residents have wrestled with whether consolidating the municipal and school district finance director position was advisable. The credentials of current Finance Director Deb Bridgham have also been a frequent topic of conversation.
From this section:
‘That’s just where the science took us’
Question 17: Shall the charter be amended to preclude the town manager from serving as director of finance and to have the director of finance report to the town manager?
The charter currently allows the town manager to either serve as finance director or to designate a director. The charter also allows the town manager to “exercise and perform the powers and duties of one or more administrative officers instead of appointing some other person or persons to such posts.”
Approval of this recommendation would prohibit the town manager from serving as finance director either temporarily or permanently. Approval would also add language that the director of finance reports to the town manager. According to a financial impact analysis conducted by Town Manger Derrik M. Kennedy, the current monthly cost, including salary and benefits, for the finance director is $11,800. Should the town manager be precluded from serving as finance director, even temporarily, this is the associated monthly cost. The annual cost of the finance director position is about $142,200.
Question 18: Shall the charter be amended to empower the director of finance to integrate the town’s municipal budget with the school department budget in order to produce a unified master budget to the town manager?
A literal reading of this proposed amendment suggests it would wrest municipal budget preparation away from the town manager and into the purview of the finance director. The amendment would also require the finance director to integrate the municipal and schools budgets. Under the current charter the town manager develops the municipal budget based on requests made by municipal department heads. The manager also receives the proposed education budget from the School Committee and presents both budgets to the Board of Finance. Under the current practice the town manager can revise the requests made by municipal department heads but cannot make changes to the proposed school budget.
Question 19: Shall the charter be amended to allow the director of finance to also serve as the chief financial officer of the school department?
This question, proposed by the Town Council, is intended to address the current consolidation of the two positions. Town Attorney Matthew Oliverio has called the consolidation of the two positions a violation of current charter provisions. The charter currently calls for a director of finance and a separate chief financial officer of the School Department. Approval of this question would ratify the current practice. There is disagreement concerning the potential cost to the town of having to uncouple the two positions. Some officials have said discontinuing the consolidation would necessitate hiring a new chief financial officer for the School Department as well as hiring new finance department staff. Other officials have acknowledged the need to hire a new financial officer for the School Department but have said the hiring would be the equivalent of adding a half-time worker since the town and School Department currently share the cost of the finance director position. Commission members said they favored continued cross-training to enable workers to handle both municipal and schools finance tasks.
Councilor Philip Overton warned residents that discontinuing the consolidation will be “very expensive.”
Question 20: Shall the charter be amended to add the requirement that the director of finance hold a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in business, finance, or accounting?
This question is an example of the commission responding directly to recent discussions in Town Hall. Deb Bridgham, the current finance director, does not have a college degree. Instead of graduating from high school she obtained a General Educational Development certificate. Until the spring of 2015 the town’s job description for the position indicated a college degree was required and certification in public accountancy preferred. In the spring of 2015, a few months after Bridgham was appointed to the position, the job description was changed.
The charter currently specifies the finance director must “have a knowledge of municipal accounting and taxation and shall have had experience in budgeting and financial control.” The commission decided that an employee responsible for overseeing a combined municipal and school budget of $88 million should have a college degree.
If approved, this amendment, according to Kennedy, is estimated to have a financial impact of adding $6,500 to $8,000 to the municipal employee payroll and expenditures for employee benefits depending on experience and academic background. Some members of the Town Council said that while they would prefer a candidate with a college degree such requirements should be left up to the town manager and should not be specified in the charter.
Question 21: Shall the charter be amended to clarify that the town manager has the authority to determine eligibility requirements of all municipal employees, including director of finance?
The Town Council developed this proposed amendment in response to Question 20. Councilor Louis Sposato Jr. said the town manager should be responsible for developing job descriptions and eligibility requirements. Councilor Jean Gagnier said he would vote against this measure based on his belief that the Town Council should have a role in helping develop eligibility criteria. The charter currently describes the town manager as the chief administrative officer of the town and gives the manager the authority to appoint, suspend, or remove all town employees and appointive administrative officers except as otherwise delineated by the charter.
Question 22: Shall Section 7-1-3 of the charter pertaining to the council’s setting of the salary of director of finance be eliminated?
Approval of this amendment would give the town manager the authority to set the director of finance’s salary during the municipal budget process. This change would be in line with how the salaries of other department heads are determined.
Town officials are urging residents to consider using a mail ballot because of the significant number of questions that will appear on the ballot. In addition to 34 proposed charter amendments, the ballot will include a question on the proposed $38.5 million school redesign bond and seven statewide questions. All of the questions are in addition to voting for local, state, and national offices.
Applications for mail ballots, which are available only for registered voters, are available at http://sos.ri.gov/ elections/forms/. Applications can also be obtained at Town Hall from the Board of Canvassers. Requests for a mailed application from the local board can be made by calling 401-348-2503. The board mailed applications to all households along with an information guide explaining the local questions. Use of mail ballots is being recommended as a means to give voters adequate time to consider each question and to reduce waiting times and congestion on Election Day. Applications for a mail ballot must be received by the Board of Canvassers by Oct 18.
dfaulkner@thewesterlysun.com
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