WESTFIELD – Interviews of two candidates for city auditor were conducted by the City Council during its Oct. 1 teleconference meeting. The City Council has the ultimate responsibility for hiring the city auditor.
The two candidates interviewed were Michael Fitzsimmons of Westfield, an accountant with the ARC of Farmington Valley, who has previous municipal payroll experience in South Hadley and Vicki Leigh Moro, currently Southampton’s town accountant.
Following the interviews, in which each candidate was given the same seven questions to answer, the Council voted unanimously to offer the job to Moro.
The seven questions that were asked included a general “tell us about yourself” question; what they believe is the role of the city auditor, how they would manage reporting to both City Hall and the City Council, what to do about recurring prior year bills in a department, what to do about an employee with recurring errors, what computer software they have experience with, and why they would be a good fit for the city.
In between the two interviews, several councilors commented on their inability to ask other questions and have more of a dialogue with the candidates.
At-large Councilor Dave Flaherty said there is nothing in the City Council Charter or state law that says they can’t ask questions.
Ward 2 Councilor Ralph J. Figy, who chaired the auditor search committee, said there are laws that control interviewing, and it would be a “slippery slope” to open it up. He agreed it was a “terrible process,” and would have liked to have the whole City Council asking questions.
“We’re talking about giving somebody a three-year contract to one of the most important jobs in the city,” Flaherty said.
Figy said, going forward, they should discuss standardizing the process.
At-large Councilor Nicholas J. Morganelli Jr. asked whether the second candidate couldn’t hear the questions asked of the first candidate. Figy agreed they could, and that is why the first round of interviews were conducted in executive sessions of the search committee, where an additional 19 questions were asked of the candidates.
Figy said on the search committee in addition to himself were Councilor Bridget Matthews-Kane, who helped to conduct the interviews at Thursday’s meeting; Purchasing Director Tammy Tefft, Assessor Robin Johnson, Treasurer Matthew Barnes, Community Development Director Peter J. Miller, and community representative, John Liptak, CPA.
“We did try to do our due diligence in the interview process and in the executive sessions,” Figy said..
During the interview, when asked why she should be the next city auditor, Moro described herself as a trustworthy person who follows the rules, and sticks to her guns when needed. She said she was strict when it comes to unacceptable expenses, and has been described by co-workers as an “equal opportunity picker-on-er.”
Moro said as the financial person in Southampton for the past eight years, she explains what’s going on to residents at Annual Town meetings. “In a smaller community, you’re doing the entire job as the only accountant the town has,” she said, including working with payroll, tracking hours, accounts receivable and payable, reconciliations with the treasurer and the police outside detail, enterprise funds and CPAs.
Moro also said she knew Westfield would be a different situation. “The one piece I would need to get used to are city versus town rules,” she said.
Moro described herself as fun to work and an avid sports fan. “I get along with most of the departments,” she said
After the unanimous vote by councilors based on their belief that she had more municipal experience, Figy said Moro would be offered the position.
On Oct. 4, Figy confirmed that Vicki Leigh Moro had reached a contract agreement with the city, and is expected to begin as City Auditor on Nov. 1.
