by
Eugene Driscoll | Mar 20, 2024 7:24 pm
|
Comments (0)
Canva.com
DERBY – Mayor Joseph DiMartino said last week that a forensic audit of city finances is back on the table.
“There will be a forensic audit. We will get that done,” the mayor said at the March 14 Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen meeting.
A forensic audit is a more focused, more detailed, and more expensive examination of financial data than a routine audit. Forensic audits are often a tool to determine whether fraud has been committed, though Derby officials say there is no evidence of such activity.
by
Eugene Driscoll | Mar 12, 2024 8:23 pm
|
Comments (0)
Wikimedia Commons
DERBY – City officials are trying to deal with an estimated budget deficit of between $2 million and $2.5 million.
To close the hole, Derby Interim Finance Director Brian Hall is recommending elected officials:
Take the one-time action of reducing the city’s pension contribution from $1 million to $500,000.
Use about $1.8 million from the American Rescue Plan Act. That’s money the federal government sent as part of the post-COVID-19 economic recovery plan.
by
Eugene Driscoll | Feb 22, 2024 4:36 pm
|
Comments (0)
DERBY – The city’s garbage and recycling contract is now out for bid, Mayor Joseph DiMartino said.
Last month Mayor DiMartino said sanitation and recycling pickup costs had increased $54,000 per month starting in July 2023. He said the increased cost took his administration by surprise.
Mayor DiMartino blamed former Mayor Rich Dziekan’s administration for not putting the contract out to bid. Former Mayor Dziekan blamed the Democrats on the Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen for stonewalling the process.
Mayor DiMartino said the monthly costs went from $107,973 to $162,094 per month.
by
Eugene Driscoll | Jan 29, 2024 6:19 am
|
Comments (0)
DERBY – A subcommittee is asking for a lawyer’s help on dealing with the creation of a position in city government that was not authorized by the Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen.
Mayor Joseph DiMartino said the city is paying $89,000 per year for a job the legislative branch didn’t authorize. The new DiMartino administration also has questions about where the money is coming from to fund the position, which is held by Katherine R. Christopher.
The issue came up at the Jan. 23 meeting of the city’s tax board and then again at the Jan. 26 meeting of a new Aldermanic subcommittee called “finance and public safety.”
by
Eugene Driscoll | Jan 25, 2024 4:58 pm
|
Comments (0)
Wikimedia Commons
Derby City Hall (Wikimedia Photo)
DERBY – The city’s new interim financial director said there could be rough seas ahead for Derby’s revenues and expenses.
“I wish I had better news for everyone, but this is where we are,” Brian Hall told members of the Derby Board of Apportionment and Taxation at a meeting on Jan. 23.
Hall was hired as the interim finance director in December 2023. The position had been vacant since August 2022.
by
Eugene Driscoll | Jan 17, 2024 5:38 pm
|
Comments (0)
Former Mayor Richard Dziekan (left) and current Mayor Joseph DiMartino.
DERBY — Mayor Joseph DiMartino is questioning whether his predecessor was entitled to the full amount of a check he cashed last year.
“The mayor has a $5,000 expense account in the line item in the budget. Before Mayor (Richard) Dziekan left he went to the finance office and had them write a check for the remaining balance and wiped it to zero,” Mayor DiMartino told the public during the Jan. 11 meeting of the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen.
Former Mayor Dziekan told The Valley Indy he was legally entitled to the money and that the former corporation counsel was OK with it.
“It was a vehicle expense account. They don’t provide a vehicle for the mayor, so I was using my personal vehicle for city business and travelling all over,” Dziekan said. “I had problems with my truck and I needed to get it fixed.”
