Meetings Ahead
Most meetings in Wellfleet are remote only, but some are held in person. Go to www.wellfleet-ma.gov/calendar and click on the meeting you want to watch, then follow the instructions on the agenda.
Thursday, July 27
- Cultural Council, 5 p.m., Town Hall Conference Room Lower Level and Zoom
Monday, July 31
- Natural Resources Advisory Board, 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 1
- Select board, 7 p.m., Adult Community Center and Zoom
Wednesday, Aug. 2
- Conservation Commission, 4 p.m.
Conversation Starter
Post-Free Cash Finances
The state Dept. of Revenue has asked Wellfleet for an update on the town’s implementation of the financial management review it gave the select board on Feb. 28. The report offered 20 recommendations to help the town clean up the financial crisis that had left it without free cash for three years and high turnover in its accounting department.
Town Administrator Rich Waldo told the select board on July 18 that the town has started work on “four or five” of the recommendations, including monthly reporting to department heads on expenses and revenues. “Reporting like that had never occurred in the past,” Waldo told the board.
Waldo also said that the town has made a “tremendous effort on reconciliation.” But, Waldo added, the finance department is still catching up on reconciling the cash books for fiscal year 2023, which it fell behind on to finish reconciling fiscal years 2020, 2021, and 2022. Now that those are complete and the town’s free cash from those years has been certified to the tune of $4.5 million, “our goal is to be like every other town and have our free cash certified relatively early into the fiscal year,” Waldo said.
The town is also waiting on its fiscal 2022 audit, which Waldo predicted would be ready to be presented by auditing firm Powers & Sullivan by mid-August.
As for the finance director role, one of the DOR’s top recommendations, the town has still not found the right candidate. Waldo established the position as a dual finance director-accountant position. At the July 18 meeting, Waldo said, “I think we need to revisit that.” He suggested advertising for an accountant and perhaps for a part-time finance director.
Progress may be slow, but “we are starting to chip away,” Waldo said. —Sam Pollak
