Ansonia City Hall.
ANSONIA — Seymour First Selectman Kurt Miller has accepted a position within Mayor David Cassetti’s administration in Ansonia, The Valley Independent Sentinel has confirmed.
Miller signed a five-year contract to become Ansonia’s “chief fiscal officer.” The job’s first-year base pay is $138,000. The dollar amount could grow based on incentives built into the contract. The First Selectman’s position in Seymour pays a $90,000 base salary.
Miller will start in Ansonia in mid-October.
A formal announcement from the Ansonia mayor’s office is expected soon. Details to follow that announcement. (Update: Mayor Cassetti posted a video on Facebook at 11:30 a.m. Friday welcoming Miller to Ansonia).
Miller, currently in his fifth, two-year term as Seymour’s top elected official, announced Sept. 4 he would be leaving office next month. He said he would be pursuing other opportunities, but did not indicate Ansonia City Hall specifically.
File Photo
Seymour First Selectman Kurt Miller in 2016 after taping an episode of ‘Navel Gazing: The Valley Indy Podcast” in Ansonia.
The Ansonia Board of Aldermen met in executive session in August to discuss Miller’s potential employment. The Aldermen then voted unanimously to “extend the employment offer to the candidate discussed in executive session,” according to meeting minutes. They were talking about Miller, though he was not publicly named.
Executive sessions are closed to the public and governments are allowed to hold such meetings when talking about issues such as contracts, real estate deals, legal strategy, and hires.
Milller’s job opportunity was mentioned on social media by a former Ansonia Alderman Jerome Fainer in early September. Derby Mayor Rich Dziekan mentioned Miller taking a job in Ansonia during a public meeting Thursday in Derby.
FILE PHOTO
Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti.
In Seymour, Miller was credited with downplaying politics and building a bi-partisan coalition to get the town on solid financial footing. Under his watch the town put together a strategic planning committee to formalize sound financial practices.
He told The Valley Indy earlier his month his goal as Seymour First Selectman was to bring in professionals.
“We’ve spent a great deal of time building a team in Seymour. We’ve gone from a town that was politically run to a town that is professionally run,” Miller said Sept. 4. “We’ve spent a lot of time putting people in place and giving them the opportunity to run their departments.”
Miller previously worked for one budget cycle as a financial consultant to Ansonia for which he was paid $30,000. That was in 2019.
Mayor Cassetii’s welcoming video:
