NEW FRANKLIN: There is never a good time for a city to be without a person at the helm of its finances. But couple first-of-the-year paperwork with state filing deadlines, and the timing could not be worse for a city to lose its top money manager.
Such is the case in New Franklin.
Requirements to fill the part-time position vacated when former Finance Director Scott Svab resigned Dec. 31 make appointing someone to the job difficult, Mayor Al Bollas said.
“We’ve had a lot of people submit resumes for the job, but only a few of them actually meet the requirements set by the city charter,” he said.
The job demands an average of about 10 hours of work a week “but that changes seasonally,” Bollas said.
According to New Franklin’s charter, any new hire for the job must have a four-year undergraduate degree in accounting or a related field to be considered. The finance director also must possess a minimum of five years of experience in accounting, two years of working with a municipality and two years in a management position.
Seven of the applicants, many with significant experience, couldn’t satisfy the city’s strict requirements for the position. Of the three applicants who may be considered, one already has found another job, Bollas said, and the application deadline has passed.
New Franklin is able get the work done with a part-time person because it contracts a large portion of the city’s financial matters to other agencies, the mayor said.
“It would be nice to have a full-time person, but now we outsource the work to consultants,” Bollas said.
After the city was left short-handed and with looming deadlines Jan. 1, Bollas said he began looking for someone who could quickly step in while officials began the process of advertising and interviewing candidates.
In the interim, he tapped Joni Murgatroyd, fiscal officer for neighboring Coventry Township, as a consultant to help the city get through the first few months of the year.
Murgatroyd said the first of the year is probably the worst time a municipality could be without a finance officer.
“Our work continues. It doesn’t stop when someone leaves,” said Murgatroyd, who has held the part-time Coventry post for the past 15 years. She said her Coventry job averages about 30 hours a week, but the workload always increases after Jan. 1.
Murgatroyd, who was re-elected to the job by Coventry voters in November, stepped in to meet financial deadlines for the city on a floating, need-based schedule. She is handling budgetary demands, analyzing data and compiling revenue reports and proposed revenue for the city’s 2012 budget.
New Franklin’s rigid charter requirements for a municipal finance expert are not typical, Murgatroyd said.
“The sad thing is there are no legal [state] requirements for the job of fiscal officer,” she said.
Bollas said he hopes to have a new finance director in place by March 1.
Kathy Antoniotti can be reached at 330-996-3565 or kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.