Town Proud of Another Squeaky Clean Audit

Auditor praises another financially sound fiscal year for Northborough.

Bill Fraher, town auditor, said auditors usually do not give compliments, but in the case of Northborough, handed it one ... even if subtly. Town's audits are delivered with a "management letter" that lists areas of concern, comments and instructions. "We're not supposed to compliment," Fraher told the Board of Selectmen in his report on Northborough's FY2012 audit. "But, you'd get it from me if I had feedback." But for four years in a row, Fraher delivered a town audit that "you could eat off of," said Town Administrator John Coderre. "This is the gold standard." The 2012 budget showed a stabilization fund that had "slow and steady growth" and a reduced reliance on free cash (which is the direct result of an approach implemented by …

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By the Numbers

The Cost of Textbooks

This week, Northborough Patch digs in to the school budget to tell you about the cost of books.

Taking a look at the approved FY2012 town meeting budget submitted by the Northborough Public Schools, the town approved a budget of $6,697 for the cost of textbooks for the 2012 school year. That is a 3.40 percent over 2011, which was $6,477. FY2010 was a lot more, at $11,068. Books aren't cheap. Just ask anyone who has recently purchased one for a college class. An interesting site: bigwords.com. This site is a search engine for thousands of textbook titles, and finds private and retail buyers and sellers. Some schools have switched, or entertained the idea of online textbooks. What are your thoughts on this?

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