HALIFAX‑ Chair Mary Brewster told residents present at the first quarter auditors’ meeting that the board will send the selectmen a third letter, asking for the selectboard report for the last fiscal year, the account summary, and the first quarter profit and loss statement. In order to do their job, the auditors need to compare those accounts with the treasurer’s accounts.

“We’ve been asking them since August 3,” said Brewster. “The numbers are all in the computer,” she added, “just waiting to be coughed up.” The auditors will also ask for the proposed budget, the highway budget, and the road commissioner’s report, but are aware that those budgets have not been written yet.

Brewster reported that the board has received complete and timely reports from the treasurer, the town clerk and collector of delinquent taxes, the constable, the school principal, and various service organizations.

In answer to a question about whether the auditors wished to examine the books of the Halifax Emergency Medical Service, Brewster showed some surprise. “We only asked for the narrative report that goes into the town report, if they want one to appear,” she replied. “We’ve always followed that sort of appropriation through the treasurer’s books. I talked to (Christina Moore of the EMS) about it. Perhaps there was a misunderstanding.”

On the issue of long‑term debt, the auditors hope to clarify their understanding of how the selectboard budget reflects the distribution of payments over more than one fiscal year. There are no old established usages in this area, as auditor Merle Eggert explained. Before 2007, towns were limited in the debt they could take on. Towns could take out short‑term loans to cover expenditures while waiting for the year’s tax revenues to come in, but the loans had to be repaid promptly. Historically, Eggert said, interest on those loans ran at about $700‑$1,000. Since then, the town has acquired long‑term debt for equipment purchases. As of June 30, 2008, that debt stood at $193,079.52, including interest of $24,788.59. Adding in long‑term bond debt, the town, as of June 30, 2008, owed $466,885.68, including interest of $87,713.09. The auditors stressed that they have no comment to make either for or against a policy of carrying long‑term debt. Their only concern is to be able to track all long‑term expenditures accurately.

The other tracking concern is “alternate funding.” The problem with blanket use of that term is that it includes many different sources, including all funds voted by Town Meeting that are not included in the selectboard’s budget. Auditors said it’s very difficult for them to track just which money is going where.