A BAD WEEK FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD

The week started with a University of Hartford student being charged with a hate crime against her roommate and it didn't improve.

A stabbing on Willard Street in Hartford yesterday morning, according to sources, involved a University of Hartford student as the victim. According to HPD, the victim was reported in critical condition with numerous stab wounds.

The investigation is ongoing with HPD Major Crimes Division

I am not posting the name of the victim, who showed a downtown Hartford address, st the time.

SHOE BOX FILER TO BE PROMOTED, FROM BAD TO WORSE?

Apparently Mayor Bronin doesn't understand that he is only a good as the people he surrounds himself with.

Bronin today announced that he will be elevating Leigh Ann Ralls to the position of Finance Director to replace the exiting Darrel Hill. 

Ralls won't have very big shoes to fill  after Darrel Hill leaves, which in this case is probably a good thing. For those not familiar with Ralls work, when she was interviewed in the past by City Auditors regarding abuse of City Credit Cards, she explained that the numbers were off because many of the receipts were not recorded properly and instead were found in a shoebox on a shelf in her office. From the Auditors Report it stated  she told the Internal Audit Commission that the P-card problem had been solved when all of the missing receipts were found in a shoe box on a shelf in the Finance Department .

 Her statement made it seem that this method was an accepted business practice in City Hall.

Well , I guess on the bright side ,the City is already broke, so how much damage could she do?

A quick search of the blog will bring up other content about Ralls. At least with the added responsibility, Ralls should be able to enlarge her circle of influence when it comes time for increased sales of Girl Scout cookies to her staff that answers to her and feel obligated to buy her treats

From Mayor Bronin to the Hartford City Council: 

Dear Council President Clarke and Members of the City Council:

As you know, Darrell Hill will be leaving his role as Director of Finance and CFO effective this Friday.  Darrell has served the City in senior positions since he arrived in Hartford in 2014, and I know you join me in thanking him for his hard work and dedication.  We have benefitted from his expertise and experience, and wish him all the best as he pursues new opportunities.

Though I have spoken to many of you informally, I wanted to formally share with you our plan to ensure a smooth and effective transition of responsibilities. 

First, I have asked Director of Management and Budget Melissa McCaw to assume additional supervisory responsibility as Interim Chief Financial Officer.  As you know, Melissa has more than fifteen years of experience in budgeting and financial management at the state and local levels, as well in higher education.  She is a tremendously skilled and trusted leader on our team, and I am confident that she will be an outstanding Interim CFO.

Second, I will be nominating Leigh Ann Ralls to the position of Director of Finance, reporting through the Chief Financial Officer.  Leigh Ann has managed key accounting processes as well as financial reporting for the City of Hartford since 2006, and she has twenty years of experience in public accounting.  She has served as Acting Director of Finance on multiple occasions in the past, and I am glad she is willing to continue serve in this critically important role.

The Department of Finance will continue to house many of its existing divisions, including Accounting and Control, Tax Assessment, Tax Collection, Procurement, and Human Relations.  The Capital Improvement Program and Risk Management functions remain part of the Finance Department, but will report directly to the Chief Financial Officer.  We will also be moving the Revenue Management division from the Department of Finance to the Office of Management, Budget and Grants, reporting to Melissa in her role as Budget Director.

I believe that this modest reorganization will allow for a more appropriate and manageable division of responsibility and authority, and will best position both the Finance and Budget Departments to continue their work as effectively as possible.  

Please feel free to reach out to me should you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Luke Bronin

HARTFORD CHIEF AUDITOR CALLING IT QUITS

Hartford's Chief Auditor H. Patrick Campbell is calling it quits.  Campbell apparently submitted his resignation yesterday, effective November 17th. Campbell is reportedly leaving for a position with the State of Connecticut.

From the City of Hartford website:

H. Patrick Campbell graduated with B.A. degree in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting from St. Michael’s College outside of Burlington, Vermont. He earned a Masters of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Finance from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Patrick is a Certified Internal Auditor and Certified Fraud Examiner and passed the National Association of Securities Dealers Series 7 Exam. He is a member of the Association of Local Government Auditors, the National and Southern New England chapters of the Institute of Internal Auditors and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

Patrick started his career at the former Combustion Engineering, Inc. (CE) headquarted in Stamford, CT, in the Financial Staff Training Program spending a year in various scheduled assignments in accounting, auditing, systems, programming and corporate budgeting functions. After successfully completing the program he then took a full time position with the Internal Audit Department of the CE Power Systems Group in Windsor, CT where he progressed from a staff auditor to senior auditor while conducting financial, operational and system audits in a manufacturing environment.

Patrick then joined the Internal Audit Department of the CIGNA Corporation in Bloomfield, CT as a Senior Auditor. He progressed from a Senior Auditor to Director through assuming additional responsibilities while executing audits of CIGNA’s life insurance, health insurance, pension and investment business units and corporate functions. Upon promotion to the position of Director, Patrick took responsibility for directing all audit related activities for the CIGNA pension, reinsurance and individual insurance lines of business. In March 1995, Patrick was hired as, and currently holds the position of, Chief Auditor for the City of Hartford.

Deputy City Auditor Craig Trujillo is expected to be named interim Chief Auditor.

Campbell's resignation is just one of many high level positions that have left the Bronin Administration over the past year, although the Chief Auditor is an autonomous position and does not answer to the Mayor or Council.

GRAND JURY OR FISHING EXPEDITION?

I know there may be more coming, but this doesn't seem like the "smoking gun" many were hoping for. This morning's indictments by the Grand Jury investigating President Trump's alleged ties to Russia seem pretty lame, and in fact they don't even mention Trump once and the allegations pre-date Trump's entrance into the Presidential Campaign

Like I said originally, there may more to come, but the questions regarding collusion with Russia need to be answered, one way or the other. These indictments could very well be a tool to get Manafort to cooperate and apply the leverage Mueller needs  to get that cooperation.

Time will tell

Manafort Gates Indictment by  on Scribd