The Narberth Borough Finance Administration Committee recommended approval of scheduled bills totaling $518,055.30 and forwarded two contract recommendations to borough council at its Jan. 16 meeting. Committee Chair Jim Spear presided.

Committee members accepted the minutes for Nov. 21, 2024, and Dec. 19, 2024 before taking action on financial items. Board Manager Maggie Dobbs presented the treasurer’s reports and called attention to an end-of-year transfer from the general fund to the capital fund that had recently cleared and altered the year-end summary totals.

On the committee’s action agenda, members voted to recommend scheduled bills covering general, sewer, solid waste, capital, highway aid and green-fund accounts in the combined amount of $518,055.30. The motion passed unanimously.

The committee also reviewed a proposed short-term agreement with an outside certified public accountant to provide transition and support services to the borough’s finance office. According to Dobbs, former manager Matt West had initiated discussions with the CPA firm; the work was included in the current professional-services line in the approved budget. The draft agreement in the packet limits services to up to four hours per month and states the borough will be billed only for hours rendered. The committee recommended the contract to full council; the packet contains two different firm names in different places, and the committee noted the name in the record is not consistent (“Barbican Ford and Company” appears in one place, “Barbara King Thornton and Company” in another). The committee instructed staff to clarify the vendor name before council action.

Committee members also recommended renewal of the borough’s telecommunications contract with AT&T. Maggie Dobbs said the vendor has supplied hardware and software for telephones since at least 2021; the proposed renewal carries a 4% rate increase effective Feb. 1 and will raise the monthly invoice to $696.99. Committee members asked whether voicemail and voice-to-text services were included; Dobbs confirmed those features are part of the contract and that the vendor markets a 15-minute response guarantee for customer service inquiries. The committee’s recommendation to council was unanimous.

All committee recommendations will appear on the full borough council agenda for final approval. The committee did not take final (binding) action on either contract; both were forwarded as recommendations.