News

Op-Ed: In Fields Project’s Wake, Town Treasurer Candidate Says New Canaan Can Do Better

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There is an old saying about construction projects: “good, quick, cheap – pick the two you want because you can’t have all three.” I don’t know enough about the $800,000 additional funding requirement to complete the turf fields / track project to suggest which of these criteria mattered most at the time the project was planned, nor will I repeat all that has already been written about this matter, which divided the Town Council. What I will say, as a CPA and candidate for Town Treasurer, is that town hall needs to learn from the mistakes that were made and install stronger financial controls over major capital projects, from the budgeting stage, through bidding and contracting, and during construction. In public / private partnerships such as this one, it is the town that has to make up the shortfall if additional private funds are not forthcoming. I am a director of a small gold mining company that has recently completed the development of a complex underground mine on time and on budget, for a cost of roughly ten times that of the fields project. We have undertaken other capital projects over recent years, smaller in scope, that have run over budget.

Government

New Canaan Town Treasurer Candidates Differ on Role of Elected Position, Qualifications at Debate

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None of the material weaknesses that auditors have identified in New Canaan’s finances in recent years have been the town treasurer’s responsibility, a candidate for the elected office said this week. Nevertheless, the identification of those weaknesses became a focal point for many in New Canaan and what Democrat Rob Fryer said he would do if elected town treasurer is “see that this doesn’t happen again.”

“What CPAs do who work in auditing in large corporate environments—and probably municipal governments, as well—is work with clients to eliminate material weaknesses as and when they occur and as and when arise,” Fryer told more than 150 people gathered Monday night at Town Hall for a debate. He added: “I have had the experience of years and years of eliminating material weaknesses, working with clients to do so and, if I am elected, the town will be my client and I will see that these things get addressed promptly.”

The incumbent town treasurer who is seeking re-election, Republican Andrew Brooks, said that it’s “important to know who has ultimate responsibility for remediating weaknesses” and noted that he was “one of the first people to support the creation of the town’s Audit Committee and commended members of the Town Council for their wisdom in creating that committee.”

A change in personnel at the top of the Finance Department, primarily, led to the elimination of all material weaknesses identified in New Canaan’s finances, Brooks said, and “it is important to know that the town treasurer is not part of the Finance Department.”

“I am totally independent of the Finance Department for the purposes of checks and balances,” he said. Brooks said further that the chairman of the Audit Committee recently made it clear “that there have never been any material weaknesses or deficiencies in my performance as treasurer, and that all the issues that were in the Finance Department, the material weaknesses have been remediated because of my recommendations and the Audit Committee’s recommendations finally being implemented.”

The pair debated during the League of Women Voters’ Candidates Forum. Candidates in all contested races for this year’s municipal election participated, including first selectman and Town Council.

News

Letter: ‘Growing Number’ of Republicans Support Devereaux and Fryer

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As has been written recently, the races for town office should be focused on electing the best candidates. For first selectman and treasurer, the best candidates are Kit Devereaux and Rob Fryer respectively, who happen to be Democrats. A growing number of Republicans have come to that conclusion as well. Kit has been an active leader in nearly all facets of our town, and has served with distinction, grace, wisdom and a spirit of collaboration. Unlike her opponent’s divisive actions (remember his commuting flyer in which he called us “suits” vs.

News

Letter: Rob Fryer for Treasurer

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Editor, New Canaanite:

New Canaan voters have the opportunity to put an accomplished CPA in office as town treasurer this November. Rob Fryer spent 34 years in the financial world as a partner at Deloitte. Numbers are not partisan, and Rob knows numbers. He knows how to follow the money coming in and going out and he knows the proper processes for how transactions should happen. With Rob Fryer as treasurer, material weaknesses would not have continued for years.

News

Op-Ed: CPA as Town Treasurer Can Make a Difference

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I am a CPA running for town treasurer in the November election. We came to New Canaan in 1988 and own no other home. This is our town and I want to use my experience to give back. The office of town treasurer is where I can have to most impact. Why?