WEST NEWBURY — The town is one step closer to hiring a new finance director. A search committee tasked with filling the post brought forth the names of three finalists to selectmen at a meeting on Wednesday.
The three men all have experience working in city municipalities, but expressed a desire for the more hands-on approach of small town government, the search panel said.
Selectmen plan to conduct interviews at a meeting open to the public on Saturday, June 25. They are hoping to have the meeting broadcast on the town's cable access channel.
The candidates are Charles Panagopoulous of Natick, Warren Sproul of Quincy and George Zoukee of Provincetown. The committee selected the men from a pool of 46 applicants following interviews conducted over the Memorial Day weekend.
During the interview process, the candidates fielded questions on municipal accounting; budgeting, financial reporting and modeling; treasurer responsibilities; managerial experience; purchasing and grant writing; municipal collections; and post-employment benefits, pension and health insurance.
A specifically designed set of questions was also used during the reference-checking phase, noted committee Chairman Bill Bachrach. The three finalists were chosen on June 5, after which town counsel Michael McCarron conducted background checks for criminal records and credit history.
According to his resume, Panagopoulous has worked since October as a temporary financial consultant and advisor to the mayor and financial staff of Weymouth. Prior to that, he served as comptroller of Natick for a year, as a senior administrative analyst and special projects manager for the city of Boston, and an acting leasing officer for the Boston Housing Authority. Panagopoulous holds a bachelor's degree in public policy and administration from Suffolk University and a graduate certificate of management from Harvard University Extension.
Sproul worked from 2008-2010 as the director of municipal finance in Quincy as well as briefly serving as its treasurer/collector. He spent a year as finance director/auditor in Salem and 22 years as a systems analyst and accountant in Quincy, where he was recognized as employee of the year in 2004. He holds a bachelor's degree from Northeastern University, an MBA from UMass Boston and a master's in finance from Bentley College.
Zoukee most recently worked as director of finance for Transportation Corridor Agencies in Irvine, Calif. He spent a year as senior vice president for NW Financial Group, of Newbury, N.H., and Jersey City, N.J., and a year as treasurer of the New York City Municipal Finance Authority. From 1993-2005 he served as executive director of the New Hampshire Municipal Bond Bank. Prior to that, he worked for four years as capital finance manager for the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and two years as senior financial analyst in the Office of Finance Director/Treasurer/Collector in Boston. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Hampshire College and an MBA with a concentration in finance from Boston University. Zoukee participated in summer internships with the World Bank in Washington, D.C.
The position was advertised in newspapers and online over the weekends of April 29 and May 6 at a cost of $2,164.
In a decision that sparked controversy this spring, selectmen chose not to renew a contract for long-time Finance Director Tracy Blais She is now town administrator for Newbury and earns a salary of $115,000.
In other business, Selectman Dick Cushing said that a report on a $25,000 audit the board ordered earlier this spring should be available in draft form next week. Initially, the outside auditing firm had promised the report by Memorial Day, but the date was pushed back when auditors discovered they had overlooked a portion of the audit request, Cushing said. Selectmen have not discussed publicly the type of audit or reason it was ordered.
After reviewing financial statements and an accountant's report from Giusti-Hingston, the firm that conducted the town's annual audit, Selectman Tom Atwood suggested speaking with auditors about adding an internal control review to the annual financial checkup.
The board discussed a complaint by Amy Friend that the Massachusetts Historical Commission has yet to receive notification about the planned renovations for the Page Elementary School. Friend, who raised the same issue to town officials several months ago, stressed that because the project is receiving some state building funding, notification is a regulatory requirement. The process could take up to 30 days to complete.
Despite what Friend called "begrudging acceptance" on the part of the local Historical Commission last December, the state commission found the school site to be historically and architecturally significant. "It is our responsibility to make sure that the renovations are done with care, preserving the characteristics of the building that made it eligible for an historic designation," said Friend.
Selectmen said the notification was an oversight that must be corrected immediately. Public Works Director Gary Bill said plans for the project are completed and bids are set to go out, but addendums can be made to the plans or the bids if the state deems it necessary. Voters approved a $10 million tax hike for the renovation last November. Funds from the state's Green School Repair program will also be applied. The Massachusetts School Building Authority recently approved four school renovation plans for the district, including the Page project.
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