Author: Deb Wagner - Director of Accounts
In the April 20th, 2023 issue of City & Town, our Local Assessment Bureau Chief detailed the role of the Division of Local Services and highlighted resources specifically for new assessing officials from our expansive and ever-growing Municipal Finance Training and Resource Center. The focus of this article will be on resources for new accountants and other municipal and finance officials.
The Bureau of Accounts (BOA) - BOA oversees the financial management of municipalities within the Commonwealth. BOA field staff assist financial officers with state regulations and requirements, approve tax rates, certify compliance with Proposition 2 1/2, and offer instruction in sound municipal accounting practices. Certain issues of debt of cities, towns, counties, and districts are issued as "State House notes" and are certified by the Director of Accounts. The Director also certifies free cash of cities and towns that is thereafter available for appropriation.
We reviews audit reports of various Massachusetts local governments submitted by independent CPA firms. As we serve in this role, BOA interacts with all areas of municipal government, from mayors and selectboards to finance committees, accountants/auditors, collectors, treasurers and assessors. One of our most important roles is providing guidance and training around a multitude of municipal finance issues. All BOA staff are assigned to municipalities, regional school districts and special purpose districts. To find out who your BOA field representative is, click here for districts and here for cities and towns.
Training and Informational Resources – As mentioned earlier in this edition, subscribing to the DLS YouTube Channel will provide you with our latest training webinars and videos. We’ve recently organized the training on our Municipal Finance Training and Resource Center by position in order to help municipal officials more easily find resources that will help in their specific roles. Our webinars are always full of important information and I suggest watching Free Cash Upload & Certification Process, Excess and Deficiency Upload Process, The Role of the Collector, The Role of the Treasurer and Delinquent Real Estate Taxes: Tax Taking Process. Other valuable resources include The Role of the Finance Committee and The Role of the Finance Director. Recently, we presented a webinar on Completing the Tax Rate Recap Forms which should be available online soon!
For anyone in a financial management role in their community, I recommend any of the resources located in these “Resources by Process” section of our training website including Analyzing the Fiscal Health of Your Community and Budgeting and Long-range Financial Planning. The latter has tools and templates that can assist you in planning for the long-term fiscal health of your community.
Timely Information and DLS Gateway – We always recommend subscribing to DLS Alerts. In addition, it’s important to note that if you’re one of our municipal partners who submits information to DLS, make sure you are signed-up for DLS Gateway by contacting your local Gateway administrator.
The Bureau of Accounts is ready to assist you in any way we can in your new role. Please reach out anytime to your BOA field representative and let us know how we can help. We’re here to help!
Helpful Resources
City & Town is brought to you by:
Editor: Dan Bertrand
Editorial Board: Marcia Bohinc, Linda Bradley, Sean Cronin, Emily Izzo, Lisa Krzywicki and Tony Rassias
| Date published: | June 15, 2023 |
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