Photo by Leah Ingram Eagle
Chelsea CFO Wayne Barber
Wayne Barber recently became the city of Chelsea’s new chief financial officer and was introduced at the May 7 Chelsea City Council meeting.
However, he’s no stranger to the city’s finances.
“His relationship with Chelsea is as old as Chelsea,” said Mayor Tony Picklesimer. “He was the very first auditor [for the city].”
Barber said he did the very first audit at the [former] mayor [Earl Niven]’s house with a laptop in his lap.
He has been with the firm DeLoach, Barber & Caspers, P.C. since 1996 after graduating from the University of Montevallo with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting. That firm had been serving as auditors for the city of Chelsea when the city was incorporated in 1996.
His primary role with the firm was overseeing firm audit services for governmental agencies, including town, city, and water board audits, as well as audit services for nonprofit and other quasi government agencies.
The city has always had a treasurer, which is required by law. Council member Scott Weygand said with the growth of the city, the accounting was getting more complicated.
“We will now be able to have our CFO and treasurer work together to bring in new software and better systems to manage the city’s finances,” Weygand said.
Picklesimer said his goal is for Barber to take the city’s finances to the next level in professionalism.
“He will bring a new level of professionalism to our accounting and the way we do business,” Picklesimer said.
Barber said he’s already hit the ground running. He’s already implemented electronic banking in order to get the statements quicker than in the past. Reconciliation can then be done in the first five to 10 days of each month.
“Over the next few months [the council] is going to be getting lots of new policies and procedures,” he said. “In my three days here, the new auditors have already started the new audit for Sept. 30, 2023.
Barber also plans to meet with each of the city’s department heads over the next several days and continue to do so each month to keep them up to date so they can be more empowered for budget purposes.
“I hope my 28 years of experience will be an asset to the city,” Barber said.
Also during the May 8 council meeting, the council
- Declared May 2024 as Mental Health Awareness Month
- Approved a resolution for education grant funds to Chelsea Middle School in the amount of $15,300 for a one-year, school-wide subscription for IXL, an interactive, online learning platform.
- Approved a resolution to adopt a blanket purchase order policy for the city (this policy will allow any common recurring to not have to be brought to the council for approval).
- Approved to pay the city’s bills
Important dates
- May 1-Oct. 31: Summer burn ban
- May 9: Railroad crossing CR36 and CR11 will be closed all day
- May 19: Suicide prevention training, 2 p.m. Chelsea Community Center
- May 20: Chelsea Municipal Court
- May 21: City council meeting, 6 p.m.
- May 22: Planning commission meeting, 6 p.m.
- May 27: City Hall closed for Memorial Day
- June 4 and 18: City Council meetings, 6 p.m.
- June 29: ChelseaFest and the Big Kaboom 6 p.m.
