LINCOLN, Maine — Miscommunication and a lack of understanding of a new computer financial program caused double reporting and underestimations of revenue that led to a $1.58 million shortfall in this year’s and last year’s town budgets, officials said Tuesday.
The good news, Town Manager Bill Reed said, is that the errors probably won’t cause an increase in the town’s $19.86 tax rate. Instead, town officials will delay several capital projects and improve efficiencies.
In a memo to the Town Council dated Monday, Reed called the “large mistakes that have been unmasked over the past month” a display of “the lack of management’s oversight and a total breakdown of the system.”
“I have asked myself the following question: ‘How could something so huge go undiscovered until someone asked a question to the auditor?’” Reed wrote.
According to Reed, Assessor Ruth Birtz and Treasurer Gilberte Mayo, the errors were:
• A $200,000 double-booking of revenues from the state Business Equipment Tax Exemption and the Maine Homestead Exemption program accounts in the 2011-2012 budget. The double-bookings occurred in former Town Manager Lisa Goodwin’s budget and on Birtz’s tax commitment account sheets.
The error isn’t part of this year’s budget. It was redressed by a $200,000 transfer from the town’s undesignated fund balance a few months ago.
• A $575,000 overestimation of projected revenues in the town’s four Tax Increment Financing accounts listed in the 2012-13 fiscal budget, again caused by double-bookings. This will require town officials to delay several capital projects.
The projected cuts include $200,000 from the town’s street-paving fund and a $100,000 savings that will occur when town officials delay renovating the old Public Works Department garage.
Town officials will also look to save money by improving efficiencies in the rest of the fiscal year.
• An $809,000 underestimation of projected expenses, again caused by double-bookings, in the town’s TIF accounts in the 2011-12 budget. Town officials compensated for the error by reducing the $2.8 million undesignated — or “rainy day” — fund balance to $1.9 million.
Council Chairman Steve Clay was surprised by the budget problems.
“I have no comment at this time because I really don’t know what has happened yet. I just got the information Monday night and I need to look into this further,” Clay said.
Clay and other councilors were briefed on the errors after a special council meeting Monday night at which councilors issued victualers permits and prepared for Election Day.
Councilors expressed mystification at the errors, saying that audits of previous years done by independent auditors found no serious problems.
The errors have at their root misunderstandings of the town’s new computer software put into place more than a year ago and miscommunication among employees, Reed said.
Reed said alerts should have been sounded over a discrepancy between the town’s municipal appropriation — or all the town’s departmental budgets combined — listed in the town budget in July 2011 and the municipal appropriation listed in the town’s certificate of assessment, which was filed with the state in September 2011.
The certificate of assessment listed an appropriation of $4.3 million when it should have listed $5.1 million, Reed said.
“That should have sent a red flag to management to start an evaluation,” Reed said Tuesday.
The town’s new auditor and town workers started discovering the budget misformatting and double-bookings shortly after they found a $200,000 error during their audit of the 2011-12 fiscal budget. The audit began in July. The auditor, Maine Municipal Auditor Services, presented its findings to Reed on Friday.
Reed had first seen indications of problems in the town’s budgeting format shortly after becoming town manager in July, Birtz said. He succeeded Goodwin, who left the job to become Bangor’s city clerk. Goodwin has an unlisted telephone number in Bangor and did not immediately return emails sent Tuesday.
The fact that town finances could absorb the errors without any immediate effect upon taxpayers shows how strong Lincoln’s budget management has been, Reed said.
“The town is very strong financially,” Reed said.
“We would have been in a much better position if this hadn’t occurred but we are still within acceptable rainy day standards,” he added. “I would have rather we still had the $2.8 million [undesignated fund balance], but the town has had very good financial planning in the past and that’s allowed us to weather this problem very well.”
Wow….a 809K “mis-underestimation” of expenses! I’ve been a little surprised with some bills, but this is a pretty big boo-boo for a small town.
To borrow a line from “Cool Hand Luke”….”what we have here is a failure to communicate”…..or in this case add and subtract.
The auditors should not get a pass on this. When they certify that these statements fairly represent the financial position of the municipality, they supposedly checked that the statements were correct. This lack of responsibility is happening too too often with the Maine Municipal Auditor Services.
I think what the article states is that the auditor discovered this during the audit process, They had not certified anything. This problem was only this past fiscal year not beyond that. I believe the towns fiscal year is July-June.
It should have been discovered by the auditor. Period!
“I have asked myself the following question: ‘How could something so
huge go undiscovered until someone asked a question to the auditor?’”
Reed wrote.
Me thinks Mr Reed likes to toot his own horn. What a brilliant man to swoop in and save the world. He may have indeed discovered this error but maybe we don’t know the background.
I may have mis-read, I thought it said the new auditors caught the error? I’d be checking into why the old auditors did not catch it.
Wow, $1.58 million….that’s quite a miscommunication……
Heads should roll!
In my observation of Town of Lincoln (I have a Masters in Public Administration), I came away with the sense that Lisa Goodwin and Ruth Birtz ran the town as Tweedle dumb and Tweedle dumber, that they were way in over their heads. Same goes for the Town Council.
Why don’t you use your Masters, instead of blowing off steam in the BDN comment section. Run for the council and help the town.
An MPA up here is a huge threat to the ‘Good ole’ Boy’s’ club. Truth might win election but you can be sure that ‘The Club’ is gonna do all it can to fight Truth at every turn and keep Lincoln and the rest of the Region as far from the real world as possible, even if it means hurting the Town thru promoting ignorance and just plain dumb. Seen it before and the tune never change’s. “Why should we change? It’s always been this way.” is nothing more than a justification for refusing to try. The voter’s deserve more and better. Truth has one way. I’m just wondering why some are so opposed ?
Have the guts to sign your name Mr. Masters!
So,what actions must the citizens ofLincoln take to stop this most uncivil town (perhaps a corrupt one)from declining further?
1.Get rid of the current tax accessor,and make the accessors office electable.
The “mistakes” were egregious.
2.Elect Planning Board members with Lincoln charter changes as well.
3.Change most of the council, they appear beyond their cognitive skills.
4.Carefully watch the town for embezzlement.
5.While the citizens are at it, they should demand the school superintendent
to be dismissed, and purge the school board as well November 6th.
As we know, any town who deals with the likes of First Wind never had their heads attached straight to begin with.
6. Carefully check the whole area by air for “plants”over eight feet tall.
7. Citizens must get off their butts and demand changes. They must SPEAK UP, and seize control of their own community.
You had me until you started spouting about windmills and “plants”. Agenda???
Agenda?..You bet I have an agenda.
Over the past decades, this once civil
town has become a cesspool of vested self-interest, nepotism ,
secret meetings and perhaps a seat of corporate corruption to the
highest levels.
Otherwise good citizens have too often
used the philosophy of “see no evil , hear no evil , speak no
evil”, for fear of employment repercussions as well as feeling
hopeless and non-empowered.
A town of once wonderful outdoor
potential, has been turned into a corporate industrial slum because
of lack of any foresight.
The feudal society that presently
exists in Lincoln is now being exposed .
Nothing will work better to cure the
evils than civil town government, and governmental transparency at
all levels..
Agenda , you bet!
Lincoln has lost its path.
Only civil process and its citizenry
taking action can change it .
The town’s citizens must act if for nothing else than
the next generation.
Is that supposed to be a poem or something?
Oh, stop it. Both references are realistic and spot on. The huge public atrocity the town father’s made by destroying the natural beauty of the hilltops and ridges which overlook Lincoln’s lakes; the extremely questionable TIF arrangement made by town officials while making back room
deals with the underhanded practices of the First Wind wind turbine pushers – CANNOT be overlooked or allowed to be minimized anymore.
Additionally, Haynes Co. was very involved with the above actions. There comes much financial clout when a company of that size can make huge sums of money from the destruction of wood lands in order to accomodate large out of state, politically & financially motivated, companies. Ergo, First Wind. There was the rather tardy press release about H. C. Haynes involvement in a huge, sophisticated marajauna cultivation money maker in down east Maine. Primarily immigrants were used to do the actual labor (resulting a in suicide by one, after the state level raid.) This company should be suspect, regarding ANY kind of involvement from which they will financially benefit.
The thing is, First Wind bought & paid for all that land from willing sellers. If you have such a problem with windmills you should have bought the land they were built on.
Your ignorance about H.C. Haynes is annoying. That company provides access to hundreds of acres of land for recreational use to the general public.
Which way do you want it Ms. Goodwin?
FW does not buy land. They lease. They also get tax breaks for allowing public access and tree growth breaks on top of others. The people of this area do not owe them anything.
Roxie owns land but some have a problem with her. Do you support her position?
Wrong company Ms. Goodwin. H.C. Haynes is not Haynes Co.. Totally different company. The company that had the very large pot farm is not the one in Winn, HC Haynes does not employ illegal immigrants. You are spouting off about an article you must not have read all the way through. Please go read it again and get your facts straight before trying to slander a company that does so much for the community.
The 2 companies are related. If you are doing something risky, flip another shell company to prevent losing everything. Enron, anyone? NOBODY knows the whole story at this point, so it is all speculation.
Brad Blake, Still bitter I see. You sir are a classless trouble maker and only push your own Corrupt agenda. you and your group are not ones to talk about Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber. get a life
What is your reason to want our electric bills to go higher? And to cost Maine jobs? That is in the latest report sitting on LePage’s desk. He at least sees the wind “cartel” for what it is…A”boutique energy source”. BB is bitter and rightfully so. Friends have property now unsellable because they face the windsprawl. Many of OUR public lands are threatened by spoiled views from blinking wind turbines. The reason to preserve the land is because of encroaching development, and many of us want some outdoors left to hike of fish in. Maybe some like to stay indoors , and that is OK, but do not begrudge us our outdoor activities nor habitat for critters. I wishBrad Blake would oust Dylan Voorhees on the NRCM…
Lets see, do you carry the 1 after or before the zero? Aww shucks – just fill in blanks, somebody will bail us out…….
I am not surprised. TIF fudging and backroom deals are the order of the day for this bunch. They don’t double check anything? They sure don’t fact check when greedy developers make wild promises either, not mentioning any names…
And Lincoln trusted these people to deal with the cadre of lawyers known as FirstWind…what were we thinking?
Voters should consider this performance before they put Mayo on the school board.
Bill Reed a top notch administrator/manager!
i hope you are kidding!
This shameful lack of professionalism is exactly why First Wind chose Lincoln.
Now First Wind has their eyes on Carroll Plt… AGAIN! Carroll did not go for a TIF. Instead they have a “Community Benefits Package”. The negotiating committee voted to accept First Wind’s offer and ended up settling for less than a fifth of what First Wind is paying Mars Hill.
Interesting. First Wind is paying Mars Hill a lot.
Yup. The Carroll people are being offered a sucker deal and apparently do not care. “Just tell us how much we get” was all the effort Anita made to get a good deal for the Plantation. It is a rip-off and Bowers 2 should be denied as it is less of the same, but still wrong like Bowers 1.
I am replying to several other comments on here. First of all, I don’t know if that was sarcasm or not but, a “top notch administrator” does not run their mouth to the media before informing the council of such findings. It is unprofessional and makes him worthy of the title “troublemaker”. Second, the assessor only uses the numbers provided by the finance director or treasurer, let’s place the blame where it belongs. Why wasn’t this caught by the auditor sooner? Third, this has nothing to do with First Wind or the windmills so stop using that as an excuse every time something goes wrong around here, Lincoln is a very strong town, and we will get past this. Thank goodness we have the “rainy day fund” and it was not plundered by this so called top notch administrator. Something stinks with this guy and the only blame that the council should bear on this one was hiring Reed to begin with. I have to laugh every time someone refers to the “good ol’ boys”. You sound like a jealous child who wants things your way but expects everyone else to take the initiative and provide it for you. You don’t like the way things are run, change it, it really is that simple.
The “smells ” were created before Mr. Reed
that is your opinion and you are entitled to it, but get off your high horse and come back down to earth. Your dramatization in your response to jbgood is appreciated but a little over the top. It is not easy for a small town to survive in this country today and I think an honest effort has been made to sustain a decent lifestyle. Hopefully this truly was an honest error and it will be resolved soon.
I would say the blame falls on Mrs. Mayo and the Auditor. Bill Reed is also a joke and needs to get the boot
Would imagine that Bangor City Clerk duties would call for accuracy. Hopefully none of these duties affect the city’s treasury in any means or form including liability.
$1.58 MILLION SHORTFALL. Taken from a $2.8 MILLION SAFETY NET. Leaving $1.22 MILLION. THAT HURTS!!!! MISCOMMUNICATION??? YEAH!! AKA GOODWIN!!!
i’m glad you have all the answers! you sound like a very bitter person, i think you need the facts and and stay away from the rumor mill
We need Glenn Aho Back!
Lincoln would be foolish to bring Aho back!!! Goodness, they can’t be that dumb up there…
he was good with numbers
Maybe you would prefer James Kotredes…
“lack of understanding of a new computer financial program”
When employees of any public office are required to use financial software it should be required that they PROVE that they can use said software competently before they are given free reign. If they do not have the skills then they should be required to gain those skills. To be fair the employer can be responsible for a certain amount of training. If, after a reasonable amount of training, you still can’t do the job then you can either take the initiative to gain those skills on your own or step aside and let someone with the correct skills take the wheel. That’s how it’s done in the private sector. You can either perform the job for which you are being paid or you can’t.
Has someone in Lincoln gone to the Lepage/Mayhew School of (mis) Management?
Nope…….to the Paul Violette/Dale McCormick/John Baldacci school…………it’s the best in the country for learning mismanagement.
Reed is smart.
If he had not told the media, the same ole same ole would have occurred in this town.
He would have been fired for his COMPETENCE.
He protected himself , at the same time exposing problems.
“See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”..for monkeys, not the people of Lincoln.
Mr. Reed, well done.
I was talking to a Lincoln Town Councilor and they found out about this b y reading it in that paper. Now is that any way for Bill Reed to handle this? to tell the Media before the council? That guy needs to go!
I wonder what happened to the supposedly correct figures before the new trio system? Who provided these figures and how were they derived? We now know the assessor made mistakes in calculations, but why were they not caught by the treasurer especially after she provided them or town management who apparently ok’d the budgets. Where were the audits and yearly reports and how could you miss those large mistakes. Why are we not holding people accountable? If others in town goverment made similar mistakes in their budgets they would be fired. My God, how high up the chain does this go? There should be an independant audit to determine the source and route of these calamity of errors. The attitude of correcting and just moving forward doesn’t get it.