MARBLEHEAD — Say goodbye to the era of "little paper timesheets" and clunky, outdated software. Marblehead's financial operations are undergoing a seismic shift, and the aftershocks promise to reshape the town's entire infrastructure for the better. The town is finally tackling long-standing inefficiencies that have hampered its performance for years.

At the heart of this revolution is Chief Financial Officer Aleesha N. Benjamin, who recently unveiled a comprehensive and ambitious plan to the Select Board. She’s leading the charge to drag the town’s financial systems into the 21st century, building a transparent and resilient foundation for the future. While acknowledging the challenges ahead, Benjamin expressed pure excitement for the transformation.

"This is going to be exciting. It’s going to be a complex new learning curve," she warned, but emphasized that the payoff will be huge. The goal, she explained, is to resolve systemic issues once and for all and dramatically improve performance across every department.

The first major domino has already fallen. The town has officially pulled the plug on its outdated ClearGov platform, a system that relied on antiquated processes. In its place rises Munis, a powerful, enterprise-level municipal financial software designed for the modern age. This is no mere upgrade; it's a complete overhaul. The new system, which went live on July 1, grants town officials something they've desperately needed: real-time access to financial data.

This transition means employees will soon be able to log their hours digitally. "Instead of our little paper timesheets, we can go in and enter," Benjamin noted. "It’s a better platform for them. It’s just the learning curve."

The rollout is a multi-stage operation. While the core system is active now, full payroll integration is slated for January 2026. Following that, the town’s revenue collection and assessing departments will be brought into the Munis ecosystem by July 2026. It's a methodical, complex process, but one that officials believe will finally put an end to the inefficiencies of the past and usher in a new era of streamlined, transparent governance for Marblehead.