Brockton subcommittee reviews new electronic warrant process that lets members pause payments

At a March 3 meeting, the Brockton Public Schools account review subcommittee reviewed a newly implemented electronic warrant-review process that staff say will let committee members flag or pause vendor payments and capture follow-up questions in a shared form.

"State regulations require school committee to review bills and payroll warrants prior to being paid," Kim Saeed, introduced by the chair as the superintendent and clerk for the meeting, told members as she outlined the new workflow.

The system starts when a duly executed purchase order and supporting documents are scanned into the district’s Munis system. Staff said Python scripts then compile the scanned files into bundled documents that are delivered to signers via DocuSign; the usual sign-off sequence is the district CFO, the superintendent and then two elected members who review and sign electronically. Saeed said the Microsoft Form provided to members offers two options: "pause on this specific purchase order, because I have more questions," or "process payment, but I have additional questions," with all questions exported into a spreadsheet for staff follow-up.

The timeline for review, staff said, is constrained by the city auditor’s schedule: staff asked members to aim for a Friday review target so the auditor can be notified to halt payment by Wednesday if necessary; the auditor typically begins processing Thursday and checks issue the following Wednesday. Payroll warrants were excluded from the initial rollout because payroll timing differs from bill processing.

Members used the session to press on how granular their review can be. One committee member asked whether the subcommittee can question line items that show only about "4%" remaining in a budget and, if so, whether that could prevent a line from falling into deficit. Saeed and other staff said year-to-date reports and requisition reviews are appropriate entry points for that level of scrutiny and encouraged members to submit questions through the form so staff can provide documented responses. "If you need to pause because you're concerned this line item doesn't have enough funds, we can do that," Saeed said.

Operational issues drew discussion as well. Members noted that vendors sometimes upload multiple invoices in a single PDF, which makes it hard to stamp or annotate individual invoices when reviewing digitally. Saeed said the form asks reviewers to denote purchase-order numbers so staff can trace questions to specific draws or blanket purchase orders, and that the district is using automation to reduce manual work. She also acknowledged technical constraints: DocuSign has size limits that can force multiple envelopes, and Munis may lack an out-of-the-box report showing only items currently in the warrant-review queue; building that capability would require additional time and money.

Staff said the process is intended to create an audit trail and make it easier for the committee — and, if needed, the Office of the Inspector General — to review the rationale and responses for flagged payments. Members suggested grouping invoices by department to reduce the number of DocuSign envelopes and make reviews more manageable; staff agreed to pursue grouping where feasible but warned large departments might still generate multiple envelopes.

The subcommittee took no formal policy vote on the warrant workflow at the meeting; members were invited to provide feedback as staff refine the process and to reassess the approach after a trial period. The meeting ended after a motion to adjourn was made and approved by voice vote.