Brian Hall
DERBY – Members of the Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen voted unanimously on Thursday (April 11) to hire Brian Hall as the city’s financial director.
Hall has been interim finance director since December 2023.
The board voted to hire Hall at a salary of $150,000. He has a one-year contract with the city, according to Mayor Joseph DiMartino’s office. Hall’s new title is official on Monday (April 15).
“The obvious is that he’s very bright and extremely good at what he does,” Mayor DiMartino said in an email to The Valley Indy. “What is less obvious about Brian and even more valuable, is his ability to explain his work, findings, and recommendations in terms that everyone can understand.”
As finance director, Hall plays a key role in city government, working with the Derby Board of Apportionment and Taxation to create a budget each year.
“His patience with all of us here, his ever willingness to answer questions and run through different budget scenarios with the members of our newly elected Board of Apportionment and Taxation, has earned him much respect,” DiMartino said.
Hall has an undergraduate degree from the University of Albany, part of the State University of New York. He studied business administration and economics with a concentration in finance.
He holds an MBA from the University of Connecticut, where he graduated with a 3.96 grade point average.
This is his first public-sector job. Prior to Derby, Hall was the vice-president of finance for Cinch Home Services, a company based in Florida. From 2016 until 2021 he was the interim chief financial officer and vice-president of financial planning and analysis at Tenerity in Stamford.
Hall lives in Trumbull.
He told The Valley Indy he’s excited to be aboard.
“I decided to take the job in Derby because I’m confident that I can help the city of Derby solve its financial challenges and I know that I can have a real impact on helping the City of Derby grow and prosper in the future,” Hall said.
Past Problems
Derby’s finances have been plagued with problems dating back to at least 2016.
Those problems include the city ‘double counting’ education grants resulting in deficits, using the fund balance to close deficits, budgeting for state grants that didn’t exist and, most recently, under-funding health benefits by about $1 million.
The city also consistently files audited financial statements late with the state.
The Derby Board of Apportionment and Taxation recently adopted a preliminary budget that carries an 11.9 percent increase in the mill rate.
Hall and the mayor have said that mill rate increase is unavoidable because of past budget blunders. At a recent meeting Hall credited the tax board for putting politics aside to create an honest, though painful, budget for the city.
Derby has been without a finance director since August 2022 — and there have been six finance directors since 2009.
The last finance director was hired with bi-partisan support in July 2021 but was put on administrative leave eight months later by former Mayor Richard Dziekan and his chief of staff, Walt Mayhew.
The pair had accused the director, Agata Herasimowicz, of not following policies and procedures.
An outside firm was hired to investigate and pointed out the city lacks written policies and procedures when it comes to its finance department. Lacking such basic policies leaves policies open to interpretation, the report concluded.
The Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen reinstated Herasimowicz in June 2022. She resigned about three months later.
Meanwhile, the city’s financial record-keeping has been called into question several times over the last decade, and the blame is politicized.
Because of past budgeting mistakes, the city is required to go over financial statements and answer questions posed by the state’s Municipal Finance Advisory Commission (MFAC).
Its commissioners have noted the Derby finance director position seems to be tied to politics in Derby, when it should not.
The next MFAC meeting is scheduled for April 17.
DiMartino is serving his first term as mayor. He was elected in November. While campaigning, he promised to hire a director of finance and a tax collector, both of which have been done.
The new mayor also promised a forensic audit of Derby finances, a task he said he will pursue after Derby passes a budget later this month.
The mayor said Hall has shown he is willing to talk to the public about Derby finances, another positive trait.
“Lastly, and maybe most importantly, feedback from the public to us at City Hall has been overwhelmingly positive. He is a wonderful example of our promise to be open and transparent with the residents of our community,” DiMartino said.
Hall’s starting salary is $40,000 more than the starting salary Herasimowicz received. Linda Fusco, Mayor DiMartino’s chief of staff, said the new salary is on par with neighboring towns and the labor market.
