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Select Board, water commissioners press for fixes after auditors flag water accounting
Summary
At a Nov. 25 joint meeting, Brookfield select board and water commissioners discussed auditor findings about unreconciled water accounts, debated switching to Vadar accounting software or outsourcing billing, and agreed to gather numbers and meet with the town accountant to resolve differences before the next budget cycle.
A joint session of the Brookfield Select Board and the water commissioners on Nov. 25 focused on auditor recommendations after the year ending June 30. Select board members and the commissioners said auditors flagged control deficiencies in the water department, chiefly a mismatch between water accounts receivable subsidiary records and the town general ledger.
Town officials said they lack the precise starting numbers needed to reconcile the accounts. The board agreed that the town accountant, Lori, must work directly with the water department to identify the disputed starting balance and either reconcile it or agree on an adjustment before auditors continue to report the same issue.
Kathy Landry Fistell, who identified herself as someone with municipal water experience, urged the board to prioritize fixing the first audit item, saying, “If you can fix number one, you don't have to fix number two.” She argued that reconciling the starting balance would remove the auditors’ recurring finding and might avoid more costly software or system changes.
Commissioners and staff also discussed the clerk’s role in posting and receiving water money. Brenda, the town collector, told the board she would consider receiving water billing duties if they were placed on Vadar, but commissioners noted Vadar is accounting software and not fully compatible with current utility-billing needs.
A vendor quote discussed at the meeting indicated replacing meter-reading software and buying a reader and a rugged laptop could cost roughly $20,400; meeting speakers also cited a smaller quoted option near $5,800 in earlier solicitations. Several participants warned that Vadar may not handle prorated bills or retain multi-year meter history in the way utility billing software does.
Board members identified several options to satisfy auditors: (1) reconcile the accounts with Lori so the starting balances are resolved; (2) outsource billing to an outside agency that can perform the billing twice a year; (3) change the billing cadence (from twice a year to quarterly) to ease customer payments while assessing cost impacts; or (4) pursue Vadar or other software but only after verifying compatibility with existing meters and the budget impact.
The board asked staff and the water commissioners to gather detailed cost estimates and implementation plans and to report back. Any proposed rate change would require a public hearing as part of the board’s normal rule-and-rate review scheduled for December.
What happens next: the select board and water commissioners will coordinate a technical follow-up with Lori and provide a proposal on reconciliation steps, billing options, and budget impacts to inform a December review and potential public hearing.
