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TMM12 could you answer more
dumb questions from a non bean counter, please.
Once a department generates a budget and asks for money does the town have access to how they actually spend, the monies? for example the school dept. asks for a chunk of money and receives the request over the year, is there any accounting as to how the money was doled out, is the money spent in the form of vouchers to pay for various services? What department actually makes the payment against a purchase order, who does the accounting
and manages the cash flow? Is money allocated for one purpose and spent on another, after the fact. how are town salaries paid, does the treasurers office generate the pay checks for the towns employees? does the treasurer have control of the accounting for Beld or are they self contained.
Sorry for all of these dumb questions but how else can we/I know what?’s going on in this town.
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Some Answers Best I Know
Department heads submit annual budget requests. The Finance Committee reviews each line item. Then they make a recommendation after voting yea or nea on each line item and a total for each budget to Town Meeting members. TMMs have chance to ask any questions (many are naive, repetitive and not meaty for sure)before they vote to appropriate funds for each budget for the ensuing budget year. Payrolls are processed by each department for each employee and they are sent to the Accountant's Office. They are debited weekly by accounting before being sent to Treasurer's Office for processing of payroll checks issued weekly (teachers bi-weekly)on Thursdays. Employees can only be paid a wage in accordance with signed off personnel pay schedules previously voted by Town Meeting. Bills for goods and services are vouchered when invoiced by vendors to each department. Vouchers are listed on a schedule of bills payable and are sent weekly or bi-weekly to accounting office where each bill is debited against a department's expense account pertinent to that expenditure. If an expenditure appears fuzzy, the accountant's office calls up and asks questions for further explanations. Then the annual town warrant of bills payable approved in accountant's office are sent to Treasurer's Office for checks to be cut and mailed out. Hundreds of these bills payable are processed weekly in town. Purchase Orders are processed for procurements usually spanning a period of time such as telephone services, fuel oil services, building repairs by outside vendors. Purchase Orders are approved after the funds have been debit encumbered against the appropriate expense account within each department. If the Highway Department had $25,000 appropriated at Town Meeting for gasoline for the year and they spend it all up, they need to go to the Finance Committee to seek a reserve fund transfer of additional funds to finish out the year. Only the School Department who are appropriated a ''bottom line'' sum of millions of dollars (based on best estimates for personnel, utilities, materials and supplies in each line account) can unilaterally transfer surplus monies from expenses into salaries or vice versa. The Treasurer does not have any oversight of expenditures by BELD, only the Town Accountant has that responsibility in doing so. If the TA sends to the Treasurer an approved warrant of bills or payroll, the Treasurer pays it.
Money allocated for one purpose cannot be spent for another purpose (except as stated within School Department) at administration's discretion.
Happy New Year.
By TMM12
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Who gave them special treatment
Braintree school dept funds control
Only the School Department who are appropriated a ''bottom line'' sum of millions of dollars (based on best estimates for personnel, utilities, materials and supplies in each line account) can unilaterally transfer surplus monies from expenses into salaries or vice versa.
What a blank check the schools have,no wonder they are so well paid.no wonder we,the town is broke.this is fiscal insanity of the first water,where are the checks and ballances,there are none.with the fincom stacked in their favor the own the towns tax base.14 million in nine years not a bad deal for the school unions.
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Thanks TMM12 If You Would
I should be paying you big bucks for all of the work you are doing for us, thank you.
More questions, they never end.
As a percentage of town monies spent what percentage did each dept. spend last
year? The schools look like the biggest cash sink of all. Do the schools handle their own paychecks as well as their own finances? Why are they granted this unique privileged as opposed to other town dept?
And why is Beld treated as if they were a separate and sovereign power, doesn't the town own Beld or is it a private company?
Its beginning to look like we the citizens of Braintree need a shadow government to keep track of these people running this town! They either are rank amateurs or they are in cahoots.
What?’s going on in this town?
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