MANCHESTER, N.H. – On Inauguration Day, Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais provided an outline on how he hopes to increase financial transparency and efficiency in the upcoming term. This week, he provided more details on a plan to work with the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen to make that happen.
Ruais detailed his plan in a letter to Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen Committee on Accounts, Enrollment and Revenue Chair Dan O’Neil and other members of the committee, beginning with the re-introduction of Independent City Auditor Julianne Pelletier.
Hired by the City of Manchester in July 2025, Pelletier brings over 30 years of experience in accounting, most recently as the Director of Finance for the Indian River County School District in Florida, the Financial Director of the State of New Hampshire’s Department of Energy, and as the Internal Auditor for the New Hampshire National Guard.
In 2025, Pelletier worked with City Finance Director Sharon Wickens in initiating updates to the city’s purchasing card, gift card and business travel expense policies following a report on the Manchester Office of Youth Services.
The mayor is requesting that the committee recommend these three draft policies (see below) at their next meeting on Tuesday, January 20 and suspend the typical two-week waiting period and have the full Board of Mayor and Aldermen take up action on the committee’s review of the policies later that evening.
Tuesday’s committee meeting will also take a look at the memorandum of understanding between the City of Manchester and the Manchester School District regarding an audit led by Pelletier, which the Manchester Board of School Committee’s Finance and Facilities Committee recommended last week.
“The request for an audit is not to suggest that there are existing financial issues,” he said in the letter. “Rather, when there is so much at stake financially, and for the kids in this city, we have to ensure that we have left no stone unturned.”
He added that Pelletier has recommended audits of the city’s Central Fleet, the Manchester Fire Department, the Manchester Department of Public Works and the benefits and payroll division of the city’s Human Resources Department following the school district audit, which is expected to be completed in mid-March if it is approved by both the Manchester Board and Mayor and Aldermen and the Manchester Board of School Committee by the end of January.
On top of these initiatives, the mayor reiterated three other initiatives mentioned during his inauguration in his “Streaming Taxpayer Accountability and Reform System” or “STARS.” Those initiatives include an update of the city’s procurement code and the creation of a centralized Purchasing Division, which he said during his inaugural speech could save the city a million dollars per year, as well as moving the city’s Parking Division from the Finance Department to the Police Department.