NORTHFIELD — The town has rearranged its financial department, hiring two new staff members to fill the town accountant and financial assistant positions while changing the required hours to better reflect the roles.

Town Coordinator Andrea Llamas said during Monday’s Selectboard meeting that Northfield used to have an accounting position that required “lots of hours” and an assistant position that required less time.

“We realized quickly that, really, the town accounting position is more specialized,” Llamas said. “The assistant financial position is the one that really needs more time. It really serves the accountant well to have more time in that position.”

Llamas said the department has “flipped” the hours for these positions and hired two people for the roles: Stacy Mousseau as town accountant and Erin Degnan as financial assistant. The town accountant will work 12 hours per week and the financial assistant’s position is for 16 hours a week, but may be increased to 20 hours a week in July, pending town approval.

The financial department is responsible for keeping track of the town budgets and bills, Llamas said. They will work with department heads to track spending and income, with Mousseau maintaining mostly evening hours to accommodate the department heads’ schedules.

“They’re not staff that generally meets the public,” Llamas said of the two positions. “They sort of work behind the scenes for us.”

“A show doesn’t work without its stage crew,” said Selectboard Chair Alex Meisner, thanking Mousseau and Degnan for joining Northfield’s staff.

Mousseau brings years of experience working in municipal town accounting with different Franklin County municipalities. Introducing herself to the Selectboard, Mousseau joked that she “loves spreadsheets and Excel.”

“I worked within the business office of a school district for 17 years and I did town accounting for a few years,” Mousseau said to explain her background.

Degnan holds a certificate in bookkeeping, and recently graduated from Greenfield Community College with an associate’s degree in accounting. She said she was drawn to accounting through her GCC classes, and decided it was something she wanted to pursue as a career.

Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or
413-930-4579.