Former Fairfield Democratic First Selectman Ken Flatto who recently became a resident of the Park City is working in the city’s Finance Department in a consulting capacity a few days a week. He has spent the last few days introducing himself to city employees working from a desk in the Finance Department of City Hall. The professional accountant turned Fairfield chief executive turned Malloy administration appointee turned executive at the Jewish Home for the Elderly has moved into a condo on Park Avenue.
Flatto, who recently left his position at the Jewish Home, told OIB he’s “helping part time a few days a week because the city is short-handed during the audit and year-end close period.” Chief Administrative Officer Andy Nunn asked Flatto to provide assistance.
Mayor Bill Finch last month named Tax Collector Anne Kelly-Lenz as acting finance director to fill the position vacated by Dawn Norton who took a position as chief financial officer of New Canaan. The mayor also named Deputy Tax Collector Veronica Jones to the post of acting tax collector.
Flatto had served for more than a decade as first selectman of Fairfield. Prior to his election as first selectman, Flatto served as the chief financial officer for Orangetown NY, and comptroller and deputy commissioner for the City of Yonkers NY. Flatto is a licensed certified public accountant. He received his MBA from Cornell University.
In March of last year Governor Dannel Malloy appointed Flatto executive director of the Division of Special Revenue responsible for managing various special revenues and for regulating legalized gaming in the State of Connecticut.
Flatto supporters maintain he was a strong steward of finances in Fairfield. His detractors criticize him for cost overruns at the new Fairfield train station.
“cost overruns at the new Fairfield train station.” Yes, I would like to know more about that. And hey, why even do a survey if they weren’t going to follow it, since all said call station “Black Rock?”
Welcome Ken Flatto, maybe you can get us the monthly reports?
The mission of the Comptroller’s Office is to prepare and maintain all financial records of the City of Bridgeport. The Department’s objectives include receiving, recording and depositing all City revenues, completing all expenditure transactions and producing all payroll payments, and preparing monthly, quarterly and annual journal entries. Also, to monitor and establish procedures for grant account fiscal activity and to maintain the financial records and books of entry for all capital improvement projects. In addition, the Comptroller’s Office analyzes and prepares monthly reconciliations of all fiscal balance sheet accounts and handles all transactions in accordance with all local, state and federal accounting standards.
Yes, this should make a Barnum Avenue train station a sure thing. Can an East Side cranberry bog be far behind?
Or maybe a hell of a halfway house?
Ken Flatto has more credentials and experience than the people he will be supporting. He has also served in communities with a variety of credit ratings and fiscal reporting practices. And his most recent long-term experience was as the elected chief executive of Fairfield, where he was supported by a bi-partisan Finance Board, a Finance Committee of the legislative body, RTM. In addition to having 10 elected legislators on the Finance Committee of the RTM with average training and experience senior to that on our Bridgeport City Council, they have no other committee duties.
And the town culture anticipates taxpayers to be informed, ask questions at public meetings and get responses that are reasonable and timely from public servants, employed, appointed or elected.
Why Flatto has made two career moves in a relatively short time is unknown, but the downsizing in residence sounded most reasonable in light of family needs.
Perhaps he will shine a light on ways to move our City to OATs, but I am quite sure this is not what he was hired to accomplish. Regarding the Black Rock RR Station, there was much tension throughout with environmental, development plan timing and funding, and ultimately a Plan B recourse to the State of CT taking on added current fiscal burdens that eliminated parking cash flow from Fairfield coffers for years into the future. The real gripe in Fairfield was Plan B was not communicated by the CEO. Flatto lost his bully pulpit to explain his side of the story.
The fact remains the monthly reports for March and April are not in the hands of the B&A Committee. Why not? Even a sleepy watchdog needs to be fed in order to bark. And will Ken Flatto’s part-time addition to the Financial team mean we will get a June report this year, just as Fairfield did? Now that would be something to celebrate. Remember, Fairfield had audits annually. Fairfield also had to close the books and make adjustments just as other municipalities. So why is Bridgeport unique, Mayor Finch? And the answer you want everyone to accept is …? Time will tell.
Tell that to Yonkers NY where he left under a cloud of corruption and financial mismanagement, and arrived in Fairfield …
*** Is it possible in two year’s time, Flatto, a pro-accountant, ex-Fairfield Chief executive, ex-Malloy admin. appointee, turned ex-Jewish Home executive and now part-time city consultant will be working for the city of Bpt in the near future? Remember, the Mayor does not need city council approval to hire or pay political appointees, no? Could be a step in the right direction? *** HERE WE GO! ***
Not big on recycling Fairfield’s retreads but at least Flatto is qualified. Could this have anything to do with the federal audit of the police dept grants? Perhaps Finch finally realized he needs to hire at least one qualified person in this city.
There is something wrong here, something is missing in this story.
Ron, you raise several good points, not merely about the Flatto career trajectory, and not solely about the Finance Department output this year (budget book 2013 should win no awards if math errors, posting errors, failure to have most current info in charts, Goals and Objective info missing or ‘phoned in,’ etc.), and the March and now April monthly report are not in the hands of the City Council.
What is happening at City Hall Fiscal HQ? Can the public trust the reporting we do get? And why does the City ignore Charter or Ordinance rules? When they have to defend their behavior in court will they share how much legal expense they are incurring for failure to read, understand and abide by settled language? Time will tell.