WESTFIELD – The City Council cancelled its scheduled interviews of auditor candidates on Sept. 10, after one of the two screened applicants withdrew from consideration.
Ralph J. Figy, chairman of the search committee, said according to best practices, the search committee wants to present more than one candidate to the Council for consideration. He said the other applicant, Vicki Leigh Moro, town accountant in Southampton, is still interested in the position.
Figy said that municipal financial positions are difficult to fill. “Cities in the eastern part of the state have gone eight or nine months,” he said.
“It’s hard to get qualified financial people at the local level. There’s a lot more tracking and organization that has to occur on the local level than did 20 years ago,” said Erik Weiss, manager of regional and municipal programs for the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.
Weiss said PVPC has helped some of the smaller towns in the region with financial management through its regional accounting program. He said another difficulty on the municipal level is succession planning; as when somebody leaves, getting somebody else to do the job.
“It is challenging for communities to get qualified people into these positions. The need for qualified people is critical,” Weiss said.
Figy said the listing for the Westfield position has never been taken down, and the committee plans to resubmit to a couple of other publications to try to create more interest. He also plans to have a brainstorming meeting with Mayor Donald F. Humason Jr.
Currently, there are four full-time employees in the auditor’s office, including Assistant Auditor Xianhong (Shelley) Zheng.
