Board Orders Treasurer to Fix, Resubmit Cash Report

Select Board · Meeting of September 28, 2026

East Brookfield orders a redo of its year-end cash report after a $38,000 gap surfaces. Treasurer Nicole and Town Accountant Donna sparred for nearly two hours in front of the Select Board and Finance Committee over mismatched cash books, with the town's outside auditor previously estimating the town's free cash was off by about $24,000 and Donna separately pegging it at roughly $15,000 the other way. Corrections discussed, including restoring $1,461.42 and $38,750 to two accounts, narrowed the gap to about $1,700.

Select Board member Bob said "the math doesn't add up," while Donna insisted identifying variances is "the role of the accountant." The board also heard a quarterly police and fire report from Chief Messier, approved $8,300 in emergency heat-exchanger repairs for the library and police station, and presented the Boston Post Cane to Mildred Smith as the town's oldest resident. No formal vote was taken on the finance dispute; the treasurer was directed to resubmit the report to the state.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,549 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of September 28, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.