Comptroller 100 days into the job
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

Belliotti

The first 100 days for Amherst Comptroller Frank Belliotti were anything but routine.

Hired the beginning of August, he started amidst a debate over a $4 million gap in the 2006 budget and battles for funding of the 2007 budget.

The Town of Amherst's financial status was in the spotlight, and many were looking to Belliotti to make sense of it.

Belliotti accepted the job with more than 40 years experience as an auditor and comptroller. Prior to accepting the position with Amherst he was an auditor and deputy comptroller for the City of Buffalo.

About the time Belliotti took the position, Supervisor Satish Mohan announced that the town had a $4 million deficit. Some board members disagreed, but Belliotti went through the numbers and reported that the funding was short for 2006.

Taking a look at the books and records, he said some changes needed to be made.

"I believe that the financial people did their best with reduced staff and managerial changes," he said. "The day-to-day stuff got done, but some things fell behind."

Looking ahead to solve these problems, he said, "We will have some continuity in outside auditors which will help in this transition year."

Belliotti said his job is to give the financial facts. With requirements different between the City of Buffalo and Town of Amherst, Belliotti said he read the state law to see what his role in the town was.

The supervisor, Town Board and departments and the comptroller's office, need to work together for better results, he said.

That includes reviewing spending. He said looking over invoices he is able to see trends that don't make sense. He suggested improving the purchasing process so invoices are filed when the purchase is made to better track spending. Currently invoices are coming in much later, and this makes it impossible to know what has been spent from the budget.

"There is a slew of (items) already ordered, and the invoices won't come in until January. By then the money is already spent," he said.

Responsible for knowing the town's financial status, Belliotti said he wants to make sure the budget process is done right - which should include a budget officer.

He added that the comptroller reports financial impacts, and it's the Town Board that decides funding for services and how to cut taxes.

"There is no easy way to make up for not having any history in Amherst and its government structure and management, but the 2007 budget process has allowed a platform for understanding the departments," he said. "We joined the supervisor in his reviews of departmentally submitted budgets. The department heads had information to explain what they do and who they had to perform tasks and explanations for each line item."

Since taking over as comptroller, Belliotti has been active at the work sessions and Town Board meetings. Once a month he reports during the work session on the budget process and/or financial report of the town.

Belliotti, who meets often with Mohan, said it's not uncommon for the supervisor to meet with him a few times a day about the town's finances.

According to the comptroller, the outcome for 2006 won't be good.

"We will not finish the year in good shape," he said, adding that it is impossible to predict an exact conclusion.

He added that department heads are being asked to look at their spending and transfer money to areas that are already over budget. The comptroller's office has already started some transfers to finish the year without a deficit.

"We don't have a lot of time left; if it's not budgeted, we can't spend it," he said.

According to Belliotti, there are obvious changes that can be made for the future, and he plans to make corrections. That includes improving records of sick and vacation time used. He said that information isn't in an accessible system, so the financial department doesn't know what time an employee has available or has used. He suggests it be organized through the personnel department instead of each individual department.

"I am going to be as transparent as I can," he said. "I" really believe in open government."

And if handling two budgets in 100 days wasn't enough, Belliotti is reviewing spending from the Oct. 12-13 storm and how it will affect the town's finances.

He said he is worried that FEMA will not cover all the requests, and weeks after the storm he was still waiting to see invoices from the first weekend.

"The comptrollership function is set up under state law to review warrants issued for the town. That means that we review all purchase orders, contracts, and invoices. We also review the payroll time sheets and in all cases the correct expenditure account to be charged," he said. "Some issues arose that made me curious as to the procedures in departments. We will study some additional data and perform review/ audits to verify."

He added that he is also looking into the shortage of procedures within the town about day to day business.

Belliotti replaced financial consultant David Hanley, of the firm Freed, Maxick and Battaglia, who had been filling in since comptroller Maureen Cilano resigned on March 20.

(Editor's note: due to the Thanksgiving holiday schedule the Amherst Bee was printed on Monday, Nov. 20. Coverage of the budget vote taken on Monday was unavailable for the Nov. 22 edition.)