Auditors Give Village Administration High Marks
On a cold and snowy January night, the Manchester Village Council received warm praise from what might seem an unlikely source. At last Monday’s meeting, the village administration staff was given high acclaim by its auditing firm, Markowski & Company of Jackson, for its handling of village finances.
Auditor Scott McLane, representing the Markowski firm, gave unqualified praise to the annual audit and was effusive in his compliments for each of the four staff members at the Village Office.
Village Manager Jeff Wallace was given high marks for successfully getting state and federal funding for large projects, which have saved the Village huge sums of money. He pointed specifically to the M-52 project, the recently approved Main Street Bridge funding, and the “mill and refill” of Main and Adrian Streets that will happen this summer, as projects that would have been otherwise unaffordable for a tiny community with a shrinking tax base. In addition, McClain applauded Wallace for his wise long-term fiscal management of Village resources, and also mentioned the extremely low debt ratio held by the village.
Village Clerk Julie Schaible was commended for her skills in accounting and her ability to not only keep accurate books that are easy to audit, but also for preparing materials for audit and making the process flow more smoothly. This, too, results in a considerable savings to the village as Markowski actually charges less to do the audit because of the preparation and organization that are done by Schaible and Village Treasurer Jack Gould.
McLane pointed to Gould’s astute investing skills as another success for Village administration. Gould was instrumental in diversifying the Village’s investments through a program known as “CDARS” which allows all funds to be federally insured, while still using local banking resources.
He expressed appreciation to the entire staff, including administrative assistant Jane Randolph, for working together to cross check and validate the finances.
“With such a small staff it’s very difficult to have a good segregation of duties, which is extremely important to management oversight,” McLane said. “But Jeff, Julie, Jane, and Jack are doing a great job of making sure that jobs are as diverse as possible, allowing for the checks and balances that are so important to a clean audit.”
Wallace and Schaible accepted McLane’s praise, but both indicated they are “just doing our jobs.” Wallace attributed their individual successes to a good working relationship between all four Village staff members.
“(Everyone’s) individual abilities mesh together really well to form a good team,” Schaible said. “The support from Village Council and the Village residents is greatly appreciated.”
Wallace added, “We will continue to work together with Village Council to identify projects to make our community stronger. We try to accomplish our projects, and when the plan works, we are able to leverage our dollars for the betterment of our residents.”
More potential plans are in the works for water and sewer improvements, with grant applications due this spring for projects such as a wastewater grant and a drinking water loan fund that can measurably improve Village infrastructure.
“If everything works out, we may see more of this over the next couple of years,” Wallace concluded.
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