Joe (finance director) reported to the Fort Myers Beach Audit Committee on Friday that the town’s finance department experienced substantial turnover between April and June, with the finance director, accounting manager, budget manager, accounts receivable specialist, utility billing specialist and accounts payable specialist leaving within a short period. The staffing losses delayed several financial processes and pushed the audit completion past the June 30 statutory deadline; the audit was completed Aug. 31.

To sustain operations, the town engaged consulting firm Goldman & Wolf to perform key finance functions temporarily, including controller/accounting manager and accounts-payable duties. Joe said several hires have since been made: Donna Estes was hired as accounts receivable specialist (and took on higher-level accounting tasks), Lisa Hollywood was hired as a part-time receptionist and utility-billing specialist, and Cassandra Penner was hired July 8 as budget manager. Joe returned to the town on July 23 and resumed full-time duties Aug. 1; a new senior accountant is scheduled to start Nov. 10. The grants coordinator, Flora Lemmer, returned from leave and now works part time.

Joe told the committee that the staffing shortages caused multiple operational delays: reconciliations and adjusting journal entries are several months behind, reimbursement requests to FEMA and other granting agencies are delayed, and the town remains behind in compiling documentation needed for timely financial statements. He said the town is prioritizing reimbursements that will most quickly and substantially improve cash flow, with assistance from a consultant named Title Basin.

On program and systems work, Joe reported that utility billing conversion to the CUSI UB4 system — led by utility billing supervisor Roxanne Frank — has been completed but reporting issues remain. The previously planned Tyler ERP Pro implementation was paused during the staffing crisis; the town is evaluating whether to resume the planned ERP Pro or upgrade to a newer Tyler product depending on costs and needs, with a target to resume implementation before the end of the current fiscal year.

On emergency funding, Joe said the town recorded roughly $43,500,000 in emergency expenditures tied to multiple storms (Hurricane Ian and others), received about $11,000,000 in insurance proceeds, and has received about $18,500,000 in FEMA and other reimbursements to date. The town also used about $440,000 in ARPA funds for non-reimbursable costs and transferred $4,000,000 from savings into the emergency fund; the council added additional general-fund transfers in 2024 and 2025. After accounting for expenditures and receipts, Joe said the emergency fund reflected a deficit of about $9,000,000 at the time of his report. He said the town expects approximately $12,200,000 more from FEMA and related sources; if and when that arrives, the emergency fund balance would be roughly $3,200,000, but those funds may take a year or longer to be received.

Joe asked the committee to note that the town has about $8.5 million in beach-renourishment expenditures ready to submit for reimbursement. Committee members discussed whether a target emergency reserve should be higher than the previously planned $4,000,000; Joe said that figure is likely insufficient given the recent experience and suggested revisiting the target.

Committee members approved a motion to accept the finance director’s report. The vote was unanimous.

Committee members scheduled a tentative follow-up meeting for Monday, Dec. 8, at 9 a.m., subject to confirmation of member availability.