Enhancing Transparency and Accountability
Mike believes that democracy thrives when government operates with openness and accountability. He is committed to ensuring the Selectboard and all town entities are fully transparent and answerable to the public.
"Without transparency, there is no accountability," Mike emphasizes. To uphold this principle, he aims to make all meeting materials and financial information easily accessible to the public at the same time they are provided to the Selectboard and other Town Boards or Commissions. Additionally, Mike advocates for implementing quarterly financial reviews to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly and in alignment with Town Meeting voter mandates.
Through these measures, Mike seeks to build trust, foster engagement, and ensure that Manchester’s government serves its residents with clarity and integrity.
The Details:
Issues Identified: At the January 16, 2024, SB meeting, severe irregularities in financial operations, including unauthorized withdrawals, were identified.
The Property Tax Relief Reserve Fund (PTRF) has a seriously declining balance. This was hidden from voters when the fund balances from the prior year published in the Town Report lumped the PTRRF into "other funds." Even the Audit fails to separate this important Town fund established when the Local Option Taxes were enacted in 1998 to stabilize the property tax rate. Our primary reserve fund has been lost and unknowingly spent without the voters' approval. The “lumping" started several years earlier. The Town Meeting Warning language was changed starting in the pandemic Australian Balloting only (Martial Law years), further obscuring what was happening. The SB was unaware.
The SB contracted with the MBA to directly transfer from the PTRRF to the MBA without the voters' approval. This was done outside the town budget process and does not appear in the town report, evading voters' approval.
The town's accounting records differ between journal entries and actual transactions. To me, this sounds like two sets of books. Our current Auditor said this was not disclosed to him.
The prior administration discontinued the paid advertising program at Applejack Stadium but left up the already there signs, giving away our expected revenues.
A loan from the CIRC Fund authorized by the voters was converted to a grant without the SB's or the voters' approval.
Proposal:
Bring our 20th-century democracy into the 21st Century.
Improve transparency by making meeting materials available online while they are sent to the SB.
Embrace rather than try to evade public meetings and public records laws.
Commit to having the Audit available before the Town Meeting and adhering to audit best practices.
The SB needs to be transparent and accountable by showing all deposits and withdrawals in the Property Tax Relief Reserve Fund since its inception at the Special Town Meeting in 1998.
SB now hires a CPA to whom they fail to disclose all the material facts. This leads to a whitewashed audit report, a waste of taxpayers’ dollars.
Goal: Restore public trust by ensuring all town finances and processes comply with all voter mandates and legal requirements.
