To make the timely payment of bills easier, the School Committee voted Monday to designate one member to sign off on bills from vendors. Currently a majority of the board—three members—must sign each bill in an open meeting.
The change accords with a section of the state’s Municipal Modernization Act, which took effect in November. Both Finance Director David Nalchajian and Peter Rowe, the school business manager, recommended the change. As Rowe said to the committee members, “You no longer need to sit here in a School Committee meeting with stacks of paper and sign warrants.”
The member who signs the warrants must report the actions to the full committee at its next meeting. SusanMary Redinger volunteered to be the designated signer, with member John Ruark substituting when needed.
The change applies only to bills from vendors, not warrants for payroll. Payroll warrants are signed regularly every two weeks, and everyone agrees that system has been working smoothly. But other bills come in at irregular intervals that may not fit well with the School Committee’s meeting schedule, sometimes leading to delays in payment.
