Florino's quiet role as town accountant
Published on July 15th, 1998
STONEHAM, MA - You won't catch him visiting elementary school classrooms, attending Board of Selectmen meetings regularly, or even having his name featured in the local newspaper too often. In fact, you may never have seen him before. But Ron Florino, Stoneham's Town Accountant for the past 12 years, is very much a visible figure in town government as he works behind the scenes doing his best in deciding what the town can and cannot afford.
With a variety of projects underway in town recently, including renovation of the Senior Center, the Main Street revitalization program, the town common and parking project and plans for a new police station, Florino has been very busy developing a capital projects plan and debt schedule. One of his biggest challenges, he says, has been "keeping this in line with what the town can afford."
Charged with planning for the next 5-10 years, and fitting all that those years promise into the budget, Florino states that the result of his work are numbers on which town officials can base their recommendations.
"I'm here to serve the town officials, focus on their needs and provide them with the information they want," Florino explained.
In contrast to other town departments where the focus is primarily on public service - such as fire, police and public works - accounting's interaction with the public is limited. By paying the bills and maintaining vendor listings, an accountant's direct customers are, therefore, other town departments.
A Stoneham native and product of the Stoneham school system, Florino was hired as the Assistant Town Accountant in 1984, fresh out of Bentley College. He served for two years in this capacity under former Town Accountant Steve Szabo, whom Florino describes as "a great teacher."
"Those two years as Assistant was really a learning experience for me," stated Florino. He went on to explain that hands-on learning is really the only way to learn the job.
"This is the type of job they don't teach you in college," he said.
Two years later, Florino was appointed Szabo's successor. As a 24-year-old Town Accountant, Florino stated that whenever he attended workshops and seminars, "everyone was twice my age." He believed then, as he does now, that age does not matter.
"I knew I was going to get the job done and do it well," said Florino.
That he has. As the only town department subject to an independent audit each year, where the department's performance is evaluated, Florino boasts a clean record for each of the last 12 years.
Accuracy is crucial, Florino said, in any of the information generated from his department. The ramifications of being inaccurate could result in the loss of jobs.
This burden was a particularly heavy one in the early 1990's, according to Florino, when the ailing economy forced a $2 million cut in state aid to the town. At that time, he said, absolute certainty was needed in the numbers he produced. A mistake back then had more severe consequences than one might in today's healthier economy.
"When it means people will be laid off, you look at the numbers even harder," stated Florino, recalling the early '90's in Stoneham as a "hard time."
Florino said the town is now playing catch-up. For the last 20 years, he stated, things ,things laid stagnant leaving many costly projects overdue. It is encouraging, he states, to see money now being used for capital improvements which will benefit the town in the long term.
Nothing comes cheap, however. With revenues limited to 2.5 percent yearly increases, and new construction limited due to a shortage of new business and construction in town, there continues to be a shortage of money in the town government.
One particularly frustrating area that the budget can not address as well as many would like is raises for town employees.
Florino acknowledged that despite the booming economy, raises have been kept at two to three per cent each year. This, he said, is due to the infrastructure expenses that must be maintained.
Florino finds himself in a difficult position on this issue.
While acting as the "number-cruncher," making financial recommendations regarding affordability, Florino is, likewise, a town employee and is familiar with the minimal increases.
"While other cities and towns are using their extra money for raises, Stoneham is more cautious, recognizing the long-term effect...of an expense that's not going away," stated Florino.
Florino's work load has increased over the past couple of years, as the town focuses on many projects aimed at increasing the quality of life in Stoneham.
"Many of the projects we're addressing now won't be paid off for 20 years," he explained. Florino credits himself with "knowing the numbers for the town better than pretty much anyone."
"My goal is to be more efficient and to do the best job I can for the town," stated Florino.
As an appointee of the Board of Selectmen, Florino must be re appointed as Town Accountant every three years. He called all the Selectmen he has had the pleasure of working for very supportive.
"They had confidence in me at a young age. I want to do right by them," stated Florino.
He points out Selectman Cosmo Ciccarello and former Selectman Elaine Moore as being particularly supportive from the very beginning.
"They've been really behind me...I appreciate the confidence they've had in me," he stated.
Now is Florino's busiest time due to the end of the fiscal year. Florino explained that there is always a push to get the closing done as soon as possible to determine what type of budget surplus the town will yield. In recent years, Stoneham has gone into October Town Meeting with $1 million to spend.
With that looming just around the corner, Florino needs to have a good idea of where the town stands financially by September.
Florino's day is not over when he leaves his office, however.
Awaiting his arrival at home in Tewksbury is Florino's wife and two young daughters, Samantha and Lydia. Family life, he states, has transformed his priorities and he describes his family as something to look forward to at the end of the day.
With a staff of three as his work family, Florino has been putting in extra hours to get this work done and cover vacations. He is not complaining, however.
"I have a lot of fun working in Stoneham. The people are great...I'm very happy with what I'm doing," stated Florino.
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