City Council Hires Budget Analyst

The City Council approved a one-year, $20,000 contract with a financial advisory firm to provide budget analysis for the legislative body at its Thursday night meeting at .

The Buzzards Bay firm, Financial Advisory Associates, will provide 160 hours of services to the City Council ahead of the Fiscal Year 2012 budget, which the Council expects from the Mayor sometime in May.

Several councilors said the analyst will provide the financial expertise the Council, as a body, lacks.

"This will be a real asset to us," Councilor-at-Large Thomas Furey said. "We're just part-time citizen soldiers."

Ward 6 Councilor Paul Prevey said the committee selected Financial Advisory Associates over one other candidate interviewed.

Prevey said that, despite his three years on the Administration and Finance Committee, reading a budget is complex and demanding.

"I still don't know a fraction of what the budget is about," Prevey said.

The financial firm's president, Michael Daley, "brings a lot to the table," said Ward 1 City Councilor Robert McCarthy, chairman of the Administration and Finance Committee.

"His responsibilities are to the City Council only," McCarthy said. "He reports to us."

The analyst will be available by phone and will meet with councilors to guide them through the budget process, which often has a quick turnaround, McCarthy said.

Last year's budget was turned around in just 10 days, from the time the City Council received the Mayor's budget, to the time it was approved, McCarthy said.

Councilor-at-Large Joan Lovely was instrumental to securing the line item to hire the budget analyst, after seeking an advisor to the City Council since it was recommended by a charter commission 10 years ago, councilors said.

"I'm so happy we're actually voting on this," Lovely said. "We've spent 10 years working to get a budget analyst...It's a happy day for me." Lovely said she believes Daley will  "help us figure out certain things about the budget" that need some work. Lovely said she also believes the analyst will help bring a balance and be an asset to both the Council and the administration.

McCarthy said the City Council had sought funding for the position last year, but the funding was cut to overcome a budget deficit.

The contract includes an option for a second year at $21,000 and a third year for $22,000.

McCarthy said it could take a few weeks for the contract to be finalized and for the firm to begin work.

Aubry Bracco contributed to this report.