Colchester's first selectman announced that there will be a soft budget freeze due to "serious discrepancies" in the town's internal spending.
In a statement Friday, Colchester First Selectman Bernie Dennler said he has seen concerning trends in the first two quarters of the fiscal year compared to the adopted budget.
Because of this, a soft spending freeze will be implemented, and all purchases will need to be approved by the first selectman.
Dennler said that he's been meeting with department heads over the past six weeks to review budgets and spending.
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The Board of Finance and Board of Selectmen held a joint meeting Thursday night to discuss the budget. During that meeting, both departments noted serious discrepancies and said many expenses appeared to be double-booked or in need of reclassification.
On top of that, officials said there seems to be "unusually high legal costs" from several lawsuits involving the town, and major repairs at town facilities like the youth center were needed.
But because of a significant staffing turnover, the town could see savings from prolonged vacancies that would help even out the overall budget, according to the first selectman.
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"Without accurate financial reporting, it is difficult to say at this point where the town’s spending year-to-date truly lies and even harder to project where things will land when the fiscal year ends," Dennler said.
In an effort to "ensure the town is able to deliver accurate reporting and management of town finances," Dennler said he will be reviewing internal procedures and restructuring the management of the Finance Department.
During Thursday night's meeting, the Board of Selectmen voted to create a Deputy Director of Town Finance position. Michelle Marceau, who currently serves as the accountant for Colchester Public Schools, will take over the role starting Jan. 8.
"Together, I am looking forward to working with our Finance team, all department heads, the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance to correct the issues we have identified so far, to ensure the timely submission of future audits, and to responsibly manage Town spending," Dennler said.
Dennler has been in office for about six weeks and was elected first selectman in November.
