ARP CORNER he League is launching its Accounting Instruction & Mentorship (AIM) program. The goal of this program is to improve the financial health of towns that have not historically had the resources and support available that is needed to thrive. The League hopes to accomplish this by providing towns with customized instruction on general accounting procedures, practical guidance and resources to keep finance departments on track, and catch-up bookkeeping and auditing services for towns that may be behind. Beyond the deliverable resources, it will also provide towns with hands-on learning experiences from a dedicated mentor and foster an environment for finance officers to ask questions specific to their situation. “I am most excited about the relationships that are forming between our League staff and small towns,” Carla Obiol, NCLM’s chief American Rescue Plan (ARP) officer, said. “The towns that we have met with are very excited about this mentorship program because, in many cases, if they simply had someone to turn to in order to ask basic questions, that would make their job and their experience so much better.” This program stems from the League’s Municipal Accounting Services (MAS), which launched in September 2022 as a part of the League’s new service offerings funded by the ARP. The state legislature tasked the League with investing its designated ARP funds into supporting cities and towns across the state. The MAS program was designed to promote better financial accountability and reliability for smaller governments and includes a full software conversion to Black Mountain Software and additional accounting guidance and training from NCLM staff. However, the League soon realized that a full conversion was not always in the best interest of these small towns, therefore, the League launched AIM and determined that this program would provide the same accounting assistance as MAS, without software conversion. “We began asking the question: How can we meet towns where they are? I think it is important that we are trying to give them what they need instead of the League prescribing what we think they need,” Obiol shared. “The AIM program provides that easier, how-to, step-by-step approach to having a strong financial process in a town.” The League is partnering with towns across the state on the program’s initial launch and will assign each town a dedicated mentor to work with the finance staff, management and elected officials in the town. The AIM program may look different in each town as the League will tailor the services to fit that town’s individual needs. T Aiming for Financial Health in Small-Town Government STEPHANIE HUGHES Communications & Multimedia Strategist (ARP) We began asking the question: How can we meet towns where they are? I think it is important that we are trying to give them what they need instead of the League prescribing what we think they need. » Carla Obiol, Chief American Rescue Plan (ARP) Officer, NCLM NCLM Chief American Rescue Plan (ARP) Officer, Carla Obiol SOUTHERN CITY Quarter 2 2024 14
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Nzc3ODM=