Late deposits, departing officials

Sanbornton recovering from financial, staffing issues

SANBORNTON — With a new town administrator and town clerk-tax collector, along with an open position on the Sanbornton Board of Selectmen, the town has a chance to turn things around from a series of problems that includes late deposits and the loss of the ability to handle motor vehicle registrations.

Officials with the state Department of Motor Vehicles cleared the way Tuesday for Sanbornton to again register vehicles, after informing the town last Friday that there was no registered municipal agent in the town.

It was the latest in a series of deficiencies first identified in last year’s town audit, and selectmen are anxiously awaiting the results of this year’s audit, which is currently underway.

Selectmen have appointed Juliana Lonergan to succeed former Town Clerk and Tax Collector Courtney Plamondon, who resigned earlier this month. The audit of June 2018 revealed that Plamondon had failed to make timely deposits, and selectmen learned that, at one point, the town had $1.5 million in undeposited funds in the safe.

Jim O’Mara, who has been serving as interim town administrator since the departure of Katie Ambrose in July, said the town audit showed several “deficiencies” but no wrongdoing on Plamondon’s part. Those deficiencies included not cashing property tax checks for several months. He said that, despite the late deposits, the town did not have to do additional borrowing in order to cover its obligations.

O’Mara said the town lacked detailed information on what Plamondon was doing, and thought everything was on track when Lonergan came on board on Aug. 22.

“Late last Friday, Motor Vehicles called and said they don’t recognize our municipal agent, and we shouldn’t be processing motor vehicle registrations,” O’Mara said.

The town immediately shut down its registrations, and worked to complete the steps necessary to be in compliance.

“It’s been an inconvenience to a lot of folks, but there’s a learning curve to be addressed,” O’Mara said.

The audit

Vachon Clukay & Company PC, which conducted the  2018 audit, concluded that, because the town had not properly recorded its activities, “The amount by which this departure would affect the deferred [expenses] is not reasonably determinable.”

As a result, the auditors concluded that the financial statements “do not represent fairly the financial position of the governmental activities of the Town of Sanbornton ….”

The firm used “certain limited procedures” to fill in the missing information, but concluded, “We do not express an opinion or provide any assurance on the information because the limited procedures do not provide us with sufficient evidence to express an opinion or provide any assurance” about the town’s financial health.

The company did have some specific recommendations for the town. It said the tax collector should record all tax information “when received or shortly thereafter” and should not backdate receipts; that the treasurer should receive all cash and checks for deposit within a week, and that the tax collector, accountant, and treasurer should reconcile their records each month.

In her response, Plamondon wrote, “The tax office is going to reconcile with the finance department more frequently, preferably on a monthly basis. Tax payments have been entered much closer to the receipt date and this shall continue.”

Vachon Clukay & Company also recommended formal execution of a tax lien, including contacting the Registry of Deeds and the financial software company as part of the lien process.

Plamondon responded, “After seeking legal counsel & recommendation from the Tax Collector’s Association president, I was advised to go to the Registry of Deeds and ask them if I could still execute the lien. I brought the appropriate documentation & the Registrar advised me that everything looked good & I was able to file the lien execution. I was advised by legal counsel not to attempt to deed any properties for the levy year in question.”

The selectmen were not involved in the exchange, but Salatiello said he brought up his concerns about the audit during a public session of the selectmen.

“When the auditors came last year, they found $1.5 million in the safe had not been deposited, and saw that there was a serious material deficiency,” Salatiello said.

“The second issue was the collection of taxes and dog licenses, and at the end of the month, the books in the selectmen’s office and the town clerk’s office were not reconciled. Her written response was that she would meet on a monthly basis with the finance director to reconcile the accounts, but it was only done on two occasions since.”

He said Police Chief Steve Hankard had accompanied Plamondon to the bank on one occasion because he was concerned about her taking $30,000 in cash because deposits had not been made on time.

“I have nothing personal against her,” Salatiello added, “but when the auditors come, it will cost us a lot of money. I’m going to recommend that the selectmen have a public meeting with the auditors and the budget committee, and have the public invited to listen to the report, and if there are any correctional measures we have to make, we’ll sit down with them and do a plan and make sure it’s executed.”

Staffing changes

In addition to Plamondon’s resignation, former Town Administrator Katie Ambrose resigned to take a job as deputy city manager in Rochester.

“We’re a small town, and are not paying a lot of money compared to other communities,” said Salatiello. “It’s a good place to work, a good environment, but the salaries are quite low and young people, in particular, are looking for opportunities.

“Our town administrator left because of a job opportunity in Rochester and, frankly, that was a good career move for her.”

Jim O’Mara, who worked with Municipal Resources, Inc., became interim town administrator, overlapping with Ambrose for one day, on July 1. Prior to working at MRI, he had served seven years as town manager in Amherst and, prior to that, was with the Hillsborough County Department of Corrections for 21 years.

O’Mara has remained on board during a transition period for Trish Stafford, whom selectmen hired as the new town administrator on July 29. Stafford previously served in human resources and as administrative assistant to the town manager in Meredith.

“It’s a slightly different form of government from a town manager, and this is my first role in town management as an administrator,” she said. “A lot of it is taking it all in, getting to know the operation and what’s expected.”

Stafford had applied for the position in the past, but at that time, she was told she lacked a sufficient background in finance. She since has earned a master’s degree in public administration at Southern New Hampshire University.

To get through the problem with Motor Vehicles, Stafford said, the town had a lot of help from other town clerks in Canterbury, Sandwich, Mason, and Windsor. They were up and running again by Tuesday.

Windsor’s town clerk, Gloria Landry, will begin on Sept. 1 as assistant town clerk-tax collector. In announcing her hiring, selectmen said the deputy town clerk-tax collector’s position will remain vacant “for the foreseeable future.”

Salatiello said selectmen have the ability to name an assistant to the town clerk/tax collector, while the other positions in that office are elected. Landry has the necessary Motor Vehicles certifications and will be responsible for that aspect of the job, he said.

“The issue with the town clerk/tax collector is they are elected, and not accountable to the board of selectmen,” Salatiello added. “They can set their own hours. But, ultimately, the taxpayers will hold the selectmen accountable.”

Sanbornton’s fiscal year ended on June 30, and auditors are going over the books to see that the town is back on its proper footing.

Meanwhile, Stafford is facing other staffing issues. Because Juliana Lonergan had been serving as head of the town’s recreation department before being appointed town clerk-tax collector, a new recreation director will need to be hired. Additionally, Transfer Station Manager Rick Razinha has resigned in order to move with his wife to Cape Cod. In the police department, Officer Gary Boisvert, who had served for 15 years as a part-time or full-time officer, will be taking a job as a sergeant with the Ashland Police Department.

Selectman Katy Wells North also resigned in June, and the selectmen will be interviewing candidates to fill her position on Sept. 3.

Attempts to reach Selectmen Chair John Olmstead and Courtney Plamondon were unsuccessful.