City Manager Yields Ground on Hiring Financial Director

By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

Williston City Manager Jackie Gorman faced strong opposition Tuesday from the mayor and a council member when she proposed replacing a respected company that serves as the city’s financial advisor with an independent financial director that would work directly under Gorman at City Hall.

The iron-willed city manager, backed by City Council President Debra Jones, stood her ground until Mayor Charles Goodman and Councilwoman Marguerite Robinson made it clear they weren’t interested in an in-house financial director that could leave the city in a bad situation.

Goodman said the city’s financial picture improved considerably when the city stopped using in-house financial directors and hired Severn Trent, a company that provides financial services, to provide the city guidance on financial matters. Severn Trent changed its name to Inframark.

Gorman agreed to approach Inframark, the city’s current advisor on financial matters, and its employee Stephen Bloom, who is Williston’s financial director, to see what it would take to retain the company. Robinson wants the company to provide a finance person to work in City Hall with Gorman and her staff.

Jones said her memory of how previous in-house financial directors worked was different than that of Goodman and Robinson and she couldn’t recall any negative comments on the city’s books using an in-house director, except the city was transferring too much money out of utilities to operate city government.

Robinson and Goodman said their recollections differed from Jones.

“I remember before Severn Trent, our audits were not good and the auditor for the first couple of years after we hired Severn Trent said your financial situation has improved dramatically,” Goodman said, recalling the years when an in-house financial director worked in City Hall: “You’re the city manager but my concern is we tried in-house financial before and it did not go well. I’m concerned about your choice. I am assuming you discussed it with someone.”

Jones said she discussed hiring an in-house financial director at length with Gorman and that Gorman’s decision to go in that direction was something she supported.

Severn Trent had stationed a financial analyst, Jennifer Alexander, to work in Williston City Hall with the city manager and city staff for years, but when Alexander moved away to be with her husband in a different state on the East Coast, she was never replaced.

Robinson suggested approaching Inframark about providing a company employee at City Hall.

“I would imagine if we asked him to, yes, that would be an option,” said Gorman, softening her position.

Robinson said she wanted to avoid problems that happened in the past with an in-house financial director.

“I’ve seen where it happened before that we had an in-house financial director and it turned out to be almost a disaster,” Robinson said.

Jones defended Gorman’s plan to hire an in-house director based on her memory of previous directors who worked in City Hall.

“I had absolutely no problem with it and I can go all the way back to the auditors James Moore & Company to Purvis Gray. I don’t remember them finding any issues,” Jones said.

Goodman didn’t agree.

“Purvis Gray made numerous statements about the state of our financial condition before they (Severn Trent) came,” Goodman said.

Jones remembered it differently.

“I remembered it had nothing to do with process. It had to do with the way we spend the money. It was our decisions, not the internal financial director,” she said.

Goodman remembered how the audits looked considerably better after in-house financial directors disappeared from City Hall.

“My memory, and I think the auditor will bear this out – my memory is that the auditor was making commendations about the way Severn Trent had fixed our finances,” Goodman said.

Gorman had mentioned earlier that she found things that had been missed by the finance officer.

“I’ve been going through things as I sign checks, find things we bought and paid for in the past, seeing processes that need to be put in place that really the financial director should have caught,” Gorman said. “Now, I said, if we’re not comfortable with the person we select, I understand your concerns and I respect that. I will go back and look again and we’ll look at it differently. But having someone in this building, as busy as we get with the things we’re doing…”

Goodman wondered if Gorman was throwing Inframark under the bus by suggesting the financial advisor didn’t catch things that should have been caught.

“You were speaking about things that you’re running across. Is it your position that Severn Trent/Inframark has not been doing a great job?” Goodman said.

Gorman said she has nothing against Bloom. She said he has done a good job and has carried out whatever he was asked to do.

“It’s not that. They’re not here to see it,” Gorman said. “It’s hard to give you a circumstance, but it’s when we are with contracts, with purchasing, with purchase orders, with changing inventory, with stuff that’s going on in financial with grants, being here with the team and staff when we’re trying to plan a budget to go forward, it seems wonderful. but it’s good to have a run-to that can help with some of the things we face now. I’m just saying being in the arena is important.”

Robinson pressed Gorman to consider keeping Inframark as the city’s financial advisor but adding an in-house person from the company to work in City Hall – someone like Jennifer Alexander.

Gorman agreed to change direction.

“I listen to you all, I absolutely do. I don’t want you uncomfortable with the decision. I will be back with it,” she said.