A Good Comptroller Has To Be Mayor-Elect Ecklund’s Top Priority As Transition Nears End
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Thank goodness Joe Bellitto has been contracted to help untangle the mess that was made of Jamestown's financial statements.
It might have been months that an issue with the way state Consolidated Highway Improvement Program aid had been budgeted if Bellitto hadn't been engaged to help close the 2022 financial records and then review the 2023 and 2024 budgets. The longtime former city comptroller had been asked by Mayor-Elect Kim Ecklund to review the budgets because she had some concerns – and it turns out she had reason to worry.
Bellitto had a laundry list of issues, first and foremost issues in budgeting the last two years of CHIPs money from the state. It causes issues in the 2023 budget but the bigger issue is coming up for 2024, when the city is likely to spend $1.6 million more than it budgeted. It's concerning that the budget didn't account for the August announcement by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli that higher rates will be coming in 2024-25 for the city's pension contributions for city employees, with Bellitto pegging that hike at between $600,000 and $700,000 – a number Sundquist and his budget team dispute by saying the city's pension spending is based on current payments and incorporate pay raises given to city employees. Bellitto also has questions about the way the city has budgeted health and dental insurance premiums, with the city potentially paying too much of the cost.
In short, this is a mess. Closing the city's books so a 2022 audit could be filed was so late Bellitto had to be called in from retirement to untangle the city's financial records. Then, Bellitto found a shortfall of between $1.6 million and $2.5 million for the 2024 budget depending on whose financial analysis you listen to.
We tend to agree with Bellitto that the city is looking at closer to $2.5 million than simply $1.6 million. The former comptroller was nearly flawless in his two decades as comptroller – and the past few city budgets since Bellitto retired have been marred with issues. If Bellitto says the city underfunded its pension payments, he's likely right.
There are two issues, then, that bear watching in the coming weeks.
The first is how Ecklund and the City Council will deal with the issues Bellitto has found. Those changes can't be made until after Jan. 1 – but $2.5 million doesn't grow on trees. There will be some major changes to the budget that will impact what city departments are able to do in the coming year.
Just as important is who Ecklund finds to serve as her comptroller. Much like Sam Teresi had Bellitto as a sounding board and financial expert for two decades, Ecklund needs to find someone who can provide sound budgeting advice. Ecklund brings years of corporate accounting and city financial experience with her as she embarks on her term as mayor, but a mayor can't micromanage the city's finances. If Ecklund spends all her time on the city's finances and the budget, then she can't lead on other issues.
Council members recently decided to cut back on department head raises proposed by Sundquist in his executive budget proposal. We generally agree with those cuts. But if the city has to spend more to secure the services of a qualified comptroller, it should do so.