DERBY — The city’s Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen has reinstated Finance Director Agata Herasimowicz. But the city hasn’t exactly been in a hurry to have her resume her duties.
The board reinstated Herasimowicz June 29 during a sometimes contentious meeting. She had been on administrative leave since March over allegations she improperly spent city funds. But as late as July 6, she had no clear return date, and was emailing city officials expressing the urgent need to get back to work on the city’s finances.
“For about a week, I have been emailing about the date to report to work,” she wrote to Corporation Counsel Vincent Marino. “I understand that the Mayor and the Corporation (counsel) need to confer on this matter. I have not (heard) from the Mayor’s office yet. Is there a problem to start work at the office? I need to review the ledger and its current status, also access to GEM software. (It is) very important.”
Marino’s reply, the following day, set her return date July 11.
“Please report to the Mayor’s office at 9 a.m. to meet with me and the Mayor,” he wrote.
While Herasimowicz is now expected to return, it is not clear what kind of work relationship she will have with Mayor Rich Dziekan and Chief of Staff Walt Mayhew, who both advocated she be fired. Dziekan continued to lobby for her dismissal despite a report by accounting firm MahoneySabol that largely absolved her of wrongdoing.
The report concluded that her signing off on payment for police video equipment and the hiring of temporary workers before getting Board of Apportionment and Taxation approval, while contrary to the city charter and not in keeping with best fiscal practices, had been “reasonable” and “necessary” given the circumstances.
After reviewing the MahoneySabol report, the board voted 8-1 to reinstate her, with only Alderman Charles Sampson siding with the mayor.
Though Herasimowicz may be back, it seems clear that her job performance will be closely watched. In his email notifying her of her return to work, Marino also wrote that he, Dziekan and Herasimowicz would use the Monday meeting to “review the duties and responsibilities of the Finance Director under the Charter and Ordinances, address any questions you may have concerning those duties and responsibilities, and clarify expectations for compliance.”
He continued that the meeting would address “areas of improvement and priorities and goals for you and the Finance Department, including for developing and implementing financial policies, procedures and internal controls to ensure compliance with the City’s Charter and Ordinances and promote best practices in the City’s financial operations.”
Alderwoman and former Derby Mayor Anita Dugatto, one of Herasimowicz’s more vocal defenders during the reinstatement meeting, expressed gratitude that she would be remaining in the city and cited her qualifications.
“I think Agata is the best thing that Derby’s had,” Dugatto wrote in an email Thursday. “She has the credentials to qualify as the Chief Fiscal Officer for the City of Derby, I trust her to guide Derby Finances with transparency and understanding.”
Without a full-time finance director, the city had a rocky budget season, with city officials noting errors in Derby’s 2022-23 budget proposal.
Mayhew, who had taken over many of Herasimowicz’s job responsibilities during her leave, said at the time that the budget in question was a draft and not a final version.
Mayhew did not respond to requests for comment about Herasimowicz’s return.
Dziekan, asked via text message about the working relationship between him and Herasimowicz, replied only that “I will be having a meeting with her Monday with corporate counsel.”
Alderwoman Sarah Widomski said she was excited for Herasimowicz’s return.
“I am looking forward to getting the finance office back on track after more than 4 months without a finance director,” she said. “I am confident that working together, the policies and procedures that have been lacking and long overdue in our city will be implemented. The (board) is committed that this is done in a transparent manner. Politics must be kept out of the finance office.”
Sampson, the lone alderman to vote against Herasimowicz’s reinstatement, said he was indifferent to her return.
“I have no feelings one way or the other,” he said. “As I stated during the meeting, she was brought there to fix the issues that she was found wrong of, not to continue these practices as they are incorrect in financial practice and against the city’s charter.”
But he is hoping she succeeds in improving the city’s finances.
“I hope that she continues to move the city’s finance department in the correct direction, not continue the status quo that has led to many compounded issues over the decades,” Sampson said.
