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City council votes to outsource payroll, accounting

Justin Addison, Editor/Publisher
Posted 11/15/22

The Fayette city council last week approved a bid from accounting firm Bookkeeping, Payroll, and Taxes to assist with the city’s accounts payable, payroll, and bank reconciliations following …

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City council votes to outsource payroll, accounting

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The Fayette city council last week approved a bid from accounting firm Bookkeeping, Payroll, and Taxes to assist with the city’s accounts payable, payroll, and bank reconciliations following the departure of City Clerk Tara Kunze.

Fayette currently has no City Clerk or City Administrator.  City Hall and Assistant City Clerk Judy Thompson will now outsource those accounting tasks.

“This is a company we sought out to take over some of those responsibilities that we’ve been asking for,” said Mayor Jeremy Dawson.

The company charges a flat monthly fee of $50, plus $5 for every employee check. The city currently writes about 75 employee payroll checks each month. Council members also agreed to an additional fee of $25 per payroll for direct deposit.

Altogether, the cost to the city will range from around $450 to $600 per month, depending on how many payrolls are made.

“Right now, Judy spends a day-plus doing payroll twice a month,” Mayor Dawson told the council. “This is not replacing the clerk’s [position]; it is getting us back on track and on the right track with our finances so that we can make better decisions.”

The accounting firm will enter all incoming and outgoing payments into the city’s gWorks software and provide up-to-date financial reporting.

“I think it’s wonderful,” Mrs. Thompson said about the proposal. “I think it will be consistent. It would lighten the load here.”

The decision to hire the accounting firm passed with affirmative votes by Alderpersons Bekki Galloway, Joe Parisi, and Stephanie Ford. Alderwoman Michelle Ishmael abstained. Council members Peggy O’Connell and Grafton Cook were absent from the meeting.

The council also granted unanimous approval to contract with Pat Chrislip, a former gWorks employee, to help the city correct several bookkeeping issues. 

Mayor Dawson explained that the city had reached out to gWorks for help cleaning up its system, but the company would not be available to help for several months. Mr. Chrislip has aided the city in the past and was available to help by the end of last week.

“This is a guy we’ve used in the past to help clean things up when he worked at gWorks. Now he’s a private contractor,” Mr. Dawson explained. “My recommendation is to go with him. We could be back on track by Monday.”

The Fayette Board of Aldermen meets regularly on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m. in City Hall. Meetings are open, and the public is invited.

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