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Eastham welcomes new finance director and treasurer; treasurer reports strong collections and online payment surge
Summary
The committee introduced Kathleen Barrett as Eastham’s new finance director and Samantha Craig as the new treasurer. Craig reported strong year‑to‑date collections (about 94% of real estate; >90% motor vehicle) and a large May uptick in beach‑sticker revenue tied to online payments and fee increases.
The Eastham Finance Committee used its June 25 meeting to introduce two new senior finance officials and to hear an initial treasury update.
Kathleen Barrett, who said she began work on June 15, introduced herself as the town’s new finance director and described onboarding activities, document review and coordination with outgoing staff. “It’s been really good — he’s a great resource,” Barrett said of her work with the departing staff member Rich, and she said she is reviewing the planning calendar and FY28 salary work.
Mary then introduced Samantha Craig as the town’s new treasurer. Craig said she was sworn in, bonded and has completed bank‑signer and online account access. In a prepared presentation, Craig outlined steps to complete cashbook and bank reconciliations, finalize turnover policies, and improve internal controls. She also reported preliminary collection rates: roughly 94% of real‑estate bills collected to date, more than 90% of motor‑vehicle excise, about 94% of personal property and above 80% of boat excise receipts.
Rich emphasized three core monthly reconciliations he expects the treasury to maintain: cash reconciliations (bank to cashbook to general ledger), receivables reconciliations with the town accountant, and payroll/withholding reconciliations to catch enrollment or withholding errors.
Committee members pressed Craig on a sharp increase in May beach‑sticker revenue; she and others attributed the jump to fee increases, seasonal visitor volume and expanded online payment options (including lock‑box and third‑party services). “May is our biggest month,” Craig said, and members said online payments and higher summer traffic make May the primary collection month for stickers.
Members also raised questions about town revenue sources and liabilities: foreclosure proceedings on Cole Road (a pending judgment), a small annual payment from the National Seashore (about $6,000 under an old agreement), and the town’s inventory of tax‑exempt or town‑owned parcels. Rich said town‑owned non‑taxable acreage is “very minimal” compared with regional peers and directed members to the assessing office for parcel‑level figures.
Craig said she will provide fuller trend reports at the regular year‑end review in September and that she is working toward delegating routine reconciliations so critical operations are not dependent on a single individual.
