Selectmen: Correcting Poor Handling of Town Finances a Priority

Here's the full text if a press release issued on behalf of the New Canaan Board of Selectmen;

"Last night, members of the Town Council fulfilled one of their most important obligations under the Town Charter: they thoroughly reviewed the audit report prepared by our new auditors, O’Connor Davies. The thoroughness and follow up of that review will go a long way to ensure that the Town and the Board of Education continue along the road of strong financial management that our administration set in motion seventeen months ago.

"Historically, financial management, oversight and reporting in New Canaan has not been commensurate with what the public should expect from our Town; the controls and policies that should have been in place simply were not in existence. As positive as the audited numbers look today (revenues exceeding expenditures, Fund Balance higher than previously noted, tax collections greater than budgeted), there are underlying issues that this administration is working hard to address. Policies that employ best practices are being implemented, accounting issues being reviewed and corrected where necessary, and personnel evaluated.

"For too long, many employees, department heads along with appointed and elected officials failed to take a deeper look into these issues, or may have even ignored them altogether. This administration made a promise on day one to roll up our sleeves, take the time and effort to review and understand the financial management of our Town, and correct those fundamental problems and other deficiencies that many of us had become concerned about over the years. The findings in the current audit and Management Letter are a direct result of this effort.

"Since November of 2011, in addition to replacing our auditors, we have also replaced our Chief Financial Officer, our legal team and our actuaries. While most other businesses and municipalities typically review the performance of all of their professional services on a regular basis, this was never done in New Canaan-until now.

"We have more work to do as we continue to evaluate and reorganize our Town's various finance departments. This will remain a top priority for us. Our administration has a talented and committed group of elected, appointed and volunteer citizens who are prepared to bring a combination of financial expertise and common sense to bear on the issues at hand.

"Special thanks goes out to former Acting CFO, Kathleen Corbet, and our current CFO, Dawn Norton, both of whom recognized immediately the scope and seriousness of the issues at hand and who worked so hard with us to begin the process of turning this situation - and this Town - around.

"Our goal is simple: we want the “The Next Station to Heaven” to reflect not just the wonderful community we live in but also the government that we run."