Harvard has a new finance director, appointed by the Select Board Tuesday, Nov. 20, to replace the former director, David Nalchajian, who resigned unexpectedly in October. Her name is Lori Bolasevich, and she will report for work at Harvard’s Town Hall on Jan. 2, 2019.
Bolasevich is a Massachusetts-certified governmental accountant (CGA) who has worked as Pepperell’s town accountant for the past three years, while assisting the Athol-Royalston Regional School District as part-time treasurer on Fridays and the town of Royalston as part-time accountant on weekends. In her capacity as town accountant, she also serves as a member of Royalston’s Finance Committee during budget season.
“I’m a busy person,” Bolasevich told the Select Board in answer to a question put to her by Chair Lucy Wallace. “I like to be busy. I like to work. [The three jobs] fit very well together.”
Bolasevich is a graduate of Mt. Wachusett Community College, where she earned an associate degree in 1982. She has worked as a municipal accountant for 15 years in four different towns, including Orange and Maynard as well as Royalston and Pepperell. She earned her CGA certification in 2007. She is a resident of Richmond, New Hampshire, just over the border from Massachusetts, approximately an hour away from Harvard.
The vote to appoint Bolasevich was unanimous. Select Board member Kara Minar was away, but newly elected Rich Maiore was present, so the vote was 4-0. Assistant Town Administrator Marie Sobalvarro told the Press this week that Bolasevich had accepted the town’s offer and that her salary is being negotiated. Bolasevich has told Pepperell that she will be leaving at the end of the
year, but Bragan told the Press he did not know whether she planned to continue doing part-time work for Royalston. The Press attempted to reach Bolasevich by phone and email for further comment, but she was unavailable.
Bolasevich was the second of two finalists interviewed by the Select Board last Tuesday. The first was Nelson Mui of Harvard, currently a purchasing manager at MIT Lincoln Labs with previous experience in municipal finance. Mui is a graduate of Babson College where he majored in finance and earned a master’s degree in business administration. He is a Massachusetts-certified public purchasing official.
MUNIS vs. CGA certification
While the board found both candidates to be highly qualified, they concluded that Bolasevich’s accounting credentials and years of experience in municipal government were an advantage. When asked for their preference, Town Administrator Tim Bragan and Assistant Town Administrator Marie Sobalvarro told the board that Bolasevich was their first choice as well.
Bolasevich will need to learn MUNIS, the town’s accounting software, but Wallace noted that Bolasevich was already working three different jobs on three different systems. “She clearly is not afraid of different accounting software,” said Wallace. “My sense is she would pick up [MUNIS] very quickly.” The second candidate was an experienced MUNIS user, but lacked CGA certification, a program overseen by the Massachusetts Municipal Auditors and Accountants Association (MMAAA) and the state Department of Revenue. Earning MMAAA certification requires coursework at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and typically takes two years to complete. Knowing the concepts of municipal accounting “is huge,” said board member Alice von Loesecke; the system used to implement them is secondary, she said. And Bragan noted that Assistant Town Clerk Catherine Bowen, who works part time for the Finance Department, is familiar with MUNIS, knows how to run reports, and can help Bolasevich get up to speed.
Bolasevich was one of 12 candidates who applied for the job, which is full-time and combines the duties of a finance director with those of town accountant. Five applicants were invited to Town Hall for interviews. These were conducted by a committee consisting of Select Board member Alice von Loesecke, School Committee member SusanMary Redinger, School Superintendent Linda Dwight, and Treasurer/Collector Amy Haley. Sobalvarro and Bragan also participated, with Sobalvarro checking references.
The town charter gives the Select Board the authority to appoint Harvard’s finance director, but also holds out the possibility that, with the concurrence of the School Committee, that individual could also support the schools, hence the inclusion of school representatives on the search committee. While school business manager certification is no longer a requirement of the Harvard finance director’s job, Bolasevich told her interviewers that she would be willing to pursue it.
Closing the books
Among her questions for Bolasevich at Tuesday’s interview, Wallace wanted to know whether she had experience in closing out a town’s books at the end of the fiscal year—and in getting the results to the state in a timely manner. “Yes, very much,” she answered. For the past four years, Pepperell has closed its books and submitted a balance sheet by August. This year, she said, Pepperell was the fourth to submit among the state’s 351 municipalities, receiving approval from the state and determining free cash on Aug. 7. Royalston’s balance sheet was approved Sept. 20. “When I have a deadline I like to meet it. I don’t like to get behind,” volunteered Bolasevich.
By contrast, Harvard has yet to submit its year-end balance sheet or set its fiscal 2019 tax rate. In the absence of a full-time finance director, contract accountant Alice Farro, recently retired finance director of the town of Westford, is doing the work. The town’s contract assessor, Regional Resource Group Inc., is scheduled to recommend the fiscal 2019 tax rate to the Select Board next Tuesday, Dec. 4.
What drew Bolasevich to Harvard? “I prefer small towns, and Harvard is approximately the same distance from my home as Pepperell,” she said, answering a question put to her by Wallace. In small town halls, she said, “you build relationships with people that last.”
What did she think were the secrets of success and the challenges of working for a small town? asked new board member Rich Maiore. “In a small town the major issue is usually the budget, trying to stretch it as far as you can to get the services that you need,” Bolasevich answered. But in a small town, “you get to know everyone better … there are not so many levels of management.” Work can be done through one-on-one contact, she said. “Sometimes you can get more done that way.”
Pepperell, where Bolasevich currently serves as town accountant, has a population of 11,000 and an annual budget of $27 million, compared to Harvard’s 6,500 residents and an identical fiscal 2019 budget of $27 million.
