Organizations of all kinds run on the skills and actions of
the people who work for them. There are
obvious differences in large organizations versus smaller ones. Larger organizations have a depth in staffing,
workloads and outputs. Smaller
organizations require the same types of outputs at a smaller scale. The means to get there however are constrained
with staffing. With a smaller staff
count there are few opportunities for redundancy in staff doing the same
chores.
Administrative staffing in Breezy Point is light. There is one person doing the majority of the
financial transactions and others doing other administrative tasks. We don’t have the luxury of cross training and
we cannot get by without that staff position being filled. Keep in mind we’re talking payroll, accounts
payable, accounts receivable, and utility billing along with monthly financial
statements.
Recently the staff person who accomplished the financial
functions for the city decided to accept a new challenge and move on to another
employer. That left a large hole for the
city to fill in terms of accomplishing all the financial functions of the
city. Hiring to replace a position takes
time to accomplish given all the tasks necessary to fulfill that goal. A temporary solution was needed to fill the
gap.
In looking at options NJPA has developed a relationship with
the accounting firm of Abdo, Eick and Meyers.
They have specialists that are familiar with municipal accounting and
the software we use to fulfill our needs.
A contract was approved at the August council meeting to hire this firm
to assist us with our finances. This is
a short term contract of 6 months that can be terminated early with
notice. NJPA will also assist us with a
small portion of the costs associated with this transition. We are very fortunate to be able to find this
solution.
In the meantime we’re looking for a dedicated employee who
has the skills and expertise to accomplish our finance functions.
