EDISON — In a period from 2006-15, Edison had seven different chief financial officers.
“The instability in the Finance Department reflected [the turnover],” said Kenneth DeRoberts, chief executive officer of Government Strategy Group, which has been hired by the township to provide financial services since 2015.
DeRoberts works with a team of five people, which Business Administrator Maureen Ruane said is great because “it is like five people in a body of one person.”
On June 27, Township Council members approved another one-year professional services contract with Government Strategy Group, Shrewsbury, Monmouth County, for financial management services to support the chief financial officer (CFO) role to ensure proper financial reporting.
The contract with the firm calls for a $15,600 monthly payment, not to exceed $187,200 for the one-year contract. The council’s resolution notes the funds for the contract will be available in the Finance Department-Other Professional Services Account in the 2018-19 budget.
Council President Ajay Patil said he understands the pros and cons of outsourcing the CFO position, however, he said he was concerned with the number of consultants who work in Edison compared to the number of employees.
He asked what the time frame would be to award a contract for a full-time CFO.
“It has taken a couple of years just to get stability in [the Finance Department] and fix operations,” DeRoberts said. “[If you] continued in the pattern of hiring another CFO to fix what was broken, it would have been quite a challenge for anybody, even myself if I came in on a full-time basis without a team.”
DeRoberts said one problem Edison and other New Jersey municipalities face is finding a competent CFO.
“They have tactical ability … if you want an accountant, you can find them all over the place,” he said. “But people who bring strategy and higher elements of financial planning, there’s a real shortage of that talent.”
DeRoberts said the ultimate goal is to have his employees trained through special courses at Rutgers University, to phase out the firm’s team and to have the person Edison officials decide to retain take control.
“It’s not going to happen overnight,” he said.
Councilman Michael Lombardi said the plan from the beginning was for the Government Strategy Group to provide services for a number of years and then help officials find a full-time CFO. He said if any unforeseen situation occurred, Ruane is familiar with what is going on in the Finance Department.
Councilman Alvaro Gomez said hiring the finance company is no different than hiring an employee.
“I think the one thing we have seen with this company over the past few years is we are getting more information, there is a rhythm of financial reporting/transparency and having the ability to bring value, the ability to forecast, and the ability to negotiate our vendor contracts,” he said.
“It has made it a lot simpler and easier to manage, and part of the problem has been the limited amount of experience that candidates have brought to the table. So from our perspective on the finance committee, it has been quite a transformation and a lot of value added over the past few years,” Gomez said.
Gomez, who chairs the finance committee, said if the company is performing, meeting and exceeding the township’s expectations, he sees no reason why one department head will perform any differently.
“Can someone come in with the same talent? I’m sure they can, but I’m not sure what we are gaining from a fixed [department head].”
Patil said he had no issue with the Government Strategy Group; however, he said his concern is having a consistent person on hand for residents and council members for important matters.
He said it is hard to believe Edison is unable to find a competent CFO when neighboring municipalities such as Piscataway and Woodbridge have a full-time CFO.