Harwich Has A New Finance Director

 HARWICH –  It has been a long time coming, but the town has finally hired a new finance director. The select board on Monday night appointed Jennifer Mince to the post; Mince has more than 25 years of experience in accounting, finance and budgeting and served recently as the interim finance director/town accountant in the town of Orleans.

 Mince, most recently has been working for Kinsherf CPA, LLC in Bourne. Eric Kinsherf and Edward Spellman of Kinsherf CPA have been serving as interim finance directors for the town of Harwich for more than a year while the town has tried to locate a permanent finance director.

“I do acknowledge that my tenure in municipal finance seems to be relatively short, but I have gone through an

intensive, on -the -job mentorship with Eric Kinsherf and other municipal finance experts over the last year, and I have a

proven aptitude for learning complex concepts with little instruction. I would like to highlight that in addition to my

vast accounting experience and education, I have 12+-plus years of professional experience in finance as well as my decades

of management and leadership experience. I further bring to the table extensive system experience and savviness,

particularly in Munis and Excel, and many more, “” stated Mince when she initially applied for the finance director’s position in Harwich.wrote in her initial application for the Harwich post.

Mince worked for the town of Orleans for two years and two months and served there as interim finance director/town accountant for 15 months. During that time, Mince she developed and implemented a revised chart of accounts to streamline financial operations, leading progress improvements, including transitioning the budget process to Munis, and automating  line-item transfers”, according to her LinkediIn post. .

She also served as Ccompntroller for the YMCA of Cape Cod In 2002 and 2023. Mince also has experience as a business owner, business director and as a senior equity and currency trader.

 Mince, e Earlier this year, she was a siemi-finalist for the finance director’s position in Harwich. The town had hired a search consultant to locate a finance director after Kathleemn Barrette resigned in August of 2024, after serving herehaving served for 14 months.

 The town had been having trouble retaining finance directors after longtime director Carol Coppola left in 2022 to take a similar position at Barnstable County.  Anne Marie Ellis was hired to replace Coppola and after seven months she resigned to take the treasurer/town accountant position in Yarmouth. Barrette was hired to replace Ellis.

 Mince was one of four semi-finalists chosen this past spring for the finance director’s position in Harwich. 

The select board narrowed the field to Mince and Ashland Finance Director Brittany Iacaponi before naming . The board agreed to appoint Iacaponi as the next finance director in April, b. But negotiations fell apart and Iacaponi took a similar position in another community.  

Interim Town Administrator Tony Schiavi recommended to the select board a few months ago the town pursue an in-house search for a finance director. He reported to the select board in mid-October that he had received five applications and none of the candidates had municipal experience. He recommended against hiring any of those candidates. 

On Monday night the select board, without discussion, voted unanimously to appoint Mince as the town’s finance director effective Dec. 1.