Cushing chosen for state commission

By ROB TICHO | Milton Independent Staff Writer
miltonreporter@yahoo.com

Long time Milton Town Clerk John Cushing was chosen for the Vermont Advisory Commission to Improve Government Financial Reporting. The five member commission created by State Auditor Tom Salmon on Feb. 1 is chaired by New England Municipal Resource Center President Ernie Saunders and includes Lyndon Town Clerk and Treasurer Lisa Barrett, Brattleboro Finance Director John Leisenring and Manchester Finance Director Ruth Woodard.

“The goal of the Commission is to develop a variety of training and information-sharing pro-grams to help cities and towns improve their accounting and financial reporting,” according to a press release published by Salmon’s office.

Cushing's 38 years as Milton's Town Clerk has provided him with a great deal of experience in municipal finance. Cushing said towns do their accounting independently so there is no way to compare one town to another. Although the Commission has no authority, Cushing hopes they can establish a standard accounting procedure for municipalities to remedy the problem.

Another key element for the Commission is training for town officials in accounting methods. “Training is the biggest issue, because, in Vermont, there is not a lot of money for training for town governments,” Cushing said.

Salmon also sees the Commission as a way for experienced municipalities to spread their knowledge. “There are some towns and cities with very high standards and performance in accounting, budgeting, planning and financial reporting, and it will help all of us to learn more about current best practices and share them with other financial administrators,” said Salmon in the press release.