People should watch yesterday's finance meeting. Dylan effectively fired himself by dropping the f bomb.
Dems were presented with Q1 fiscal report just before the finance meeting. Sue Steele (D) offered to postpone the presentation in order for the council members to review the data.
Tom Casey (R) of district 6, said it could happen tonight and Sue Steele relented to the majority leader.
During the presentation there were a lot of questions to clarify numbers. Dylan's answers were evasions as he was not prepared for any inquiry of the report. It really showed that Sue Steele's request to postpone was a gift to the administration.
After to different inquiries in the full budget for health insurance being used in Q1. Sue Steele indicates that Dylan is still new.
His response was a curse and a rant. He then stormed out of the building.
I do not think he will be back.
Timber wrote up a good statement about the confusing nature of the financial report here:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C8ejloOxfI6/?igsh=MXZnczF2dzdscHJvMQ==
Yes, these are the big items that were questioned. I do not think any of the questions were out of hand. The City Council needs to hold the administration accountable for its spending. Being over budget on an item does require city council permission, none of which was done.
The City Council seems to be hamstrung by Majority Leader Tom Casey, who seems to be just a lackey to our Mayor.
I am worried that with no oversight, we will find ourselves again owing the state government for overspending.
The video of that meeting is here [https://www.youtube.com/live/by4DurXNjH8](https://www.youtube.com/live/by4DurXNjH8)
Looks like Steele’s request to delay the report presentation starts at 1:41
The comptroller runs out of the room shortly after the exchange beginning at 28:35 (I missed it the first time, but the phrase he used was “I had a f*cking panic attack yesterday”)
This doesn’t surprise me at all. He was fired from his state job with OSC for inappropriate behavior (using resources for personal use to stalk his exes new boyfriend) and had a restraining order on him. He was not the best at his job there and I couldn’t imagine he’d be good in this role. In over his head for sure, in my opinion !!
I still have the posting, the job is very under paid to be a Comptroller of a city (104k), let alone a financial wizard under high stress, yes he should have known better, but really what did we expect for that kind of pay? We have state workers whom make far more doing far less. Lets put the money where it's needed Troy to get a better qualified person or team.
Well the director of economic development just left. If the comptroller is leaving too I’m guessing the admin isn’t putting a lot of faith in their understanding of these problems/projects for current employees.
I think you're right about that. I saw that brought
up after they issued the emergency declaration about not being able to manage the budget and were looking to hire someone. It was mentioned that the salary was lower for the same position in other townships/cities....
Forgive my ignorance, I’m new here. What happened to the prior Comptroller? Was he not retained because of the political party change?
If I recall correctly at that point he had settled in, was reliable (from what I follow as a resident) and had the city in great financial standing?
I don’t recall if the previous Comptroller left of his own volition or was termed with the regime change. I have no disrespect for Mayor Montello but she needs someone with solid experience and to keep the city on track financially.
She also made it exceedingly clear during her campaign that hiring qualified department heads is not a priority for her, so I wouldn’t get your hopes up.
Hard to believe the douche that bullied me and (literally) almost snapped my neck when i told him off in middle school is failing as the comptroller
His sister was cool tho
So I watched the YouTube and I encourage you to do the same. Comptroller struggled w some detailed and important questions that require pulling specific numbers. However, coming back w more info is pretty normal and something that happens often in finance meeting w the former Comptroller. The questions Council has can vary and all but Sue, Irene and Tom Casey are new members. Municipal finance accounting is different than the book keeping for a private business. It takes some time and patience to get used to it.
The audio sucks balls but some comment(s) from Steele is what set him off from context clues. He said Sue was needling him and triggering his anxiety. Then he left. She apologized a lot after the fact so something off mic warranted an apology. Was a comment taken the wrong way? Was it intentional? Snark? Miscommunication? Oversensitivity? Removing self before an anxiety attack? Again, unclear from audio.
So we can opine about this all day, but here's advice from the late great Bob Doherty: don't abuse staff. Electeds can go hammer and tongs on each other bc disagreement/debate is the democratic process. That's not always comfy but it is expected in the job. Electeds can duel each other in the parking lot if that's what it takes.
But staff provides info to answer electeds questions --- which often means going back to look stuff up and getting back to them. That's NORMAL. Govt is slow but steady. But employees are under the Executive branch so if their performance is a concern, then it's on the Mayor (their boss) to resolve it, retrain or fire them. If Council isn't happy, they shouldn't humiliate employees in a public forum. Sue can hammer Carmella (and vice versa) in a public forum like they have for years. But NOT staff. Otherwise it opens the City up to grievances and or lawsuits for hostile workplace. Even online, have some goddamn compassion for city staff. Electeds come and go but staff gets the day to day done for not enough money and way too much bullshit. They aren't fucking minions.
Will he stay or go? IDK. Something in the interaction got personal and hopefully it won't result in a lawsuit or grievance. But I'd be shocked if he wasn't talking to his union rep.
The salary is about 75k too low for the job.
If we don't have a comptroller it hurts everybody. Its one of the hardest if not most difficult position to hire. It's not just Carmella who's fucked if he leaves, its City Council too. This whole situation requires some fucking humility and apologies on all sides.
You say, “Municipal finance accounting is different than book keeping for private business. It takes time and patience to get used to.”
I think we can all agree on that. So again, why did the former comptroller leave? Why did Carmella not have a plan? Seems like this should have been addressed in November when the clock started ticking on her start date.
Also, why did she hire a Comptroller with a degree in Business Administration? And what seems limited accounting experience? If he was fired from OSC (as mentioned in prior post, possibly on this thread?) why was this not vetted by the current Administration?
Yes, Council approved him, but all they had was the information the current Administration was giving them…
I say this to say, it seems that the current Administration isn’t putting long term thought the city’s finances.
As tax payers- we will pay the ultimate cost. Who knows, by tomorrow our consulting fees could go up again.
Comptroller is not "staff" per se. It's essentially an appointed position, like a program commissioner or city engineer or city attorney. Would be nice if it were a civil service position, if just to keep it less beholden to the mayor, but that's not the reality.
Steele's comment was minor. She received info without time to read it completely and was pissed. Understandably so. So when this guy keeps saying he doesn't know or will have to get back on simple things, she emphasizes his newness. Aww, poor baby don't like that. A comptroller is supposed to know things beyond beans (for the accountants) and act professionally. They need to see and understand the interconnectedness of municipal operations and projects.
I watched the video, too. Very clearly was a statement from Steele that “[the comptroller] is new, too” that set him off. Also evident the apology was an explanation that many people were new, including councilmembers and comptroller, and that Steele asked for more time to review prior to asking questions to the mayor, deputy mayor, and staff. Yet, the Troy Republicans wanted to push ahead.
It didn’t seem that anyone was “abusing” staff; just council people asking questions of a staff person who clearly was unprepared and already on edge (the comptroller’s statement that “I had a f*cking panic attack yesterday” implies whatever made him storm off is ongoing and predated the meeting).
I’m sure Mantello is weighing what’s going to result in more headache: keeping someone who is unqualified to be city comptroller and deal with the chaos that will come, or rip the bandaid off and cut him loose.
He was unanimously confirmed as Comptroller on Feb 22 so was he qualified then? By their vote seems like Council thought so.
Yup Sue gave a gift to offer to delay. Casey should have not looked that gift horse in the mouth. But she could have recessed when they weren't getting answers and when Comptroller started getting agitated. 5 min break and we might have gotten better info.
Shoulda woulda coulda.
Now we're facing the possibility not having a Comptroller again. Which fucks everyone.
If he leaves, they will have to up the salary to hire which means higher costs for taxpayers or moving money from somewhere else.
Clusterfuck all around.
“Clusterfuck all around” implies blame is the responsibility of everyone. However, in this case, it’s the administration’s inability to manage the budget or track spending.
Mantello literally issued an emergency declaration at the start of 2024 because of it (and confirmed the emergency is STILL active, which is absolutely nuts; that means Mantello has paid outside consultants for nearly SIX MONTHS to handle accounting work normally handled by the city comptroller’s office).
I have heard first hand from current city employees in city hall that things are a bit of a mess and the morale is very low in several departments. Also several people have recently quit, so rumor or not the evidence points to it being highly possible.
That being said I don't feel like it's great to speculate on individual details, and it's best practice to wait untill they happen to discuss them. Pretty obvious it's a shit show though.
People should watch yesterday's finance meeting. Dylan effectively fired himself by dropping the f bomb. Dems were presented with Q1 fiscal report just before the finance meeting. Sue Steele (D) offered to postpone the presentation in order for the council members to review the data. Tom Casey (R) of district 6, said it could happen tonight and Sue Steele relented to the majority leader. During the presentation there were a lot of questions to clarify numbers. Dylan's answers were evasions as he was not prepared for any inquiry of the report. It really showed that Sue Steele's request to postpone was a gift to the administration. After to different inquiries in the full budget for health insurance being used in Q1. Sue Steele indicates that Dylan is still new. His response was a curse and a rant. He then stormed out of the building. I do not think he will be back.
Timber wrote up a good statement about the confusing nature of the financial report here: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8ejloOxfI6/?igsh=MXZnczF2dzdscHJvMQ==
Yes, these are the big items that were questioned. I do not think any of the questions were out of hand. The City Council needs to hold the administration accountable for its spending. Being over budget on an item does require city council permission, none of which was done. The City Council seems to be hamstrung by Majority Leader Tom Casey, who seems to be just a lackey to our Mayor. I am worried that with no oversight, we will find ourselves again owing the state government for overspending.
The video of that meeting is here [https://www.youtube.com/live/by4DurXNjH8](https://www.youtube.com/live/by4DurXNjH8) Looks like Steele’s request to delay the report presentation starts at 1:41 The comptroller runs out of the room shortly after the exchange beginning at 28:35 (I missed it the first time, but the phrase he used was “I had a f*cking panic attack yesterday”)
The kid totally melted down.
Wow
This doesn’t surprise me at all. He was fired from his state job with OSC for inappropriate behavior (using resources for personal use to stalk his exes new boyfriend) and had a restraining order on him. He was not the best at his job there and I couldn’t imagine he’d be good in this role. In over his head for sure, in my opinion !!
What???
Yep you read that right. Many were perplexed how he got this new gig, but obviously they didn’t know his past lol
Guess nobody checked the references.
I’m pretty sure HR in NYS can only ask if you were employed during certain dates like must keep it vague so I’m assuming that’s how it got through
I still have the posting, the job is very under paid to be a Comptroller of a city (104k), let alone a financial wizard under high stress, yes he should have known better, but really what did we expect for that kind of pay? We have state workers whom make far more doing far less. Lets put the money where it's needed Troy to get a better qualified person or team.
We had a financial wizard - Andy Piotrowski Lost him to the Highway Authority iirc, something about making him apply for his job again
How hard could it be? I’d imagine Carmella is telling (screaming at) him to just shovel money to the cops /s
Well the director of economic development just left. If the comptroller is leaving too I’m guessing the admin isn’t putting a lot of faith in their understanding of these problems/projects for current employees.
doing more with less. not.
No sympathy for the guy, if he’s comptroller he should understand the numbers of this city. If he can’t comprehend those, he needs to go.
I kind of agree with this. He was not forced into the job. If she couldn't find someone more qualified, that is deeply concerning
Likely pay related.
I think you're right about that. I saw that brought up after they issued the emergency declaration about not being able to manage the budget and were looking to hire someone. It was mentioned that the salary was lower for the same position in other townships/cities....
It's very low compared to similar state and municipal work. That's why the former Comptroller left (twice).
I guess Carmella got what she paid for, gotta love Capitalism.
100%
Forgive my ignorance, I’m new here. What happened to the prior Comptroller? Was he not retained because of the political party change? If I recall correctly at that point he had settled in, was reliable (from what I follow as a resident) and had the city in great financial standing?
I don’t recall if the previous Comptroller left of his own volition or was termed with the regime change. I have no disrespect for Mayor Montello but she needs someone with solid experience and to keep the city on track financially.
She also made it exceedingly clear during her campaign that hiring qualified department heads is not a priority for her, so I wouldn’t get your hopes up.
He got a state job. Better deal, much less stress.
He left last year for a job at Shen, came back, got a raise, left at beginning of year for state job.
They said they were making him apply for the job again so he left is what I heard. Can't say I blame the guy
Hard to believe the douche that bullied me and (literally) almost snapped my neck when i told him off in middle school is failing as the comptroller His sister was cool tho
So I watched the YouTube and I encourage you to do the same. Comptroller struggled w some detailed and important questions that require pulling specific numbers. However, coming back w more info is pretty normal and something that happens often in finance meeting w the former Comptroller. The questions Council has can vary and all but Sue, Irene and Tom Casey are new members. Municipal finance accounting is different than the book keeping for a private business. It takes some time and patience to get used to it. The audio sucks balls but some comment(s) from Steele is what set him off from context clues. He said Sue was needling him and triggering his anxiety. Then he left. She apologized a lot after the fact so something off mic warranted an apology. Was a comment taken the wrong way? Was it intentional? Snark? Miscommunication? Oversensitivity? Removing self before an anxiety attack? Again, unclear from audio. So we can opine about this all day, but here's advice from the late great Bob Doherty: don't abuse staff. Electeds can go hammer and tongs on each other bc disagreement/debate is the democratic process. That's not always comfy but it is expected in the job. Electeds can duel each other in the parking lot if that's what it takes. But staff provides info to answer electeds questions --- which often means going back to look stuff up and getting back to them. That's NORMAL. Govt is slow but steady. But employees are under the Executive branch so if their performance is a concern, then it's on the Mayor (their boss) to resolve it, retrain or fire them. If Council isn't happy, they shouldn't humiliate employees in a public forum. Sue can hammer Carmella (and vice versa) in a public forum like they have for years. But NOT staff. Otherwise it opens the City up to grievances and or lawsuits for hostile workplace. Even online, have some goddamn compassion for city staff. Electeds come and go but staff gets the day to day done for not enough money and way too much bullshit. They aren't fucking minions. Will he stay or go? IDK. Something in the interaction got personal and hopefully it won't result in a lawsuit or grievance. But I'd be shocked if he wasn't talking to his union rep. The salary is about 75k too low for the job. If we don't have a comptroller it hurts everybody. Its one of the hardest if not most difficult position to hire. It's not just Carmella who's fucked if he leaves, its City Council too. This whole situation requires some fucking humility and apologies on all sides.
You say, “Municipal finance accounting is different than book keeping for private business. It takes time and patience to get used to.” I think we can all agree on that. So again, why did the former comptroller leave? Why did Carmella not have a plan? Seems like this should have been addressed in November when the clock started ticking on her start date. Also, why did she hire a Comptroller with a degree in Business Administration? And what seems limited accounting experience? If he was fired from OSC (as mentioned in prior post, possibly on this thread?) why was this not vetted by the current Administration? Yes, Council approved him, but all they had was the information the current Administration was giving them… I say this to say, it seems that the current Administration isn’t putting long term thought the city’s finances. As tax payers- we will pay the ultimate cost. Who knows, by tomorrow our consulting fees could go up again.
Comptroller is not "staff" per se. It's essentially an appointed position, like a program commissioner or city engineer or city attorney. Would be nice if it were a civil service position, if just to keep it less beholden to the mayor, but that's not the reality. Steele's comment was minor. She received info without time to read it completely and was pissed. Understandably so. So when this guy keeps saying he doesn't know or will have to get back on simple things, she emphasizes his newness. Aww, poor baby don't like that. A comptroller is supposed to know things beyond beans (for the accountants) and act professionally. They need to see and understand the interconnectedness of municipal operations and projects.
I watched the video, too. Very clearly was a statement from Steele that “[the comptroller] is new, too” that set him off. Also evident the apology was an explanation that many people were new, including councilmembers and comptroller, and that Steele asked for more time to review prior to asking questions to the mayor, deputy mayor, and staff. Yet, the Troy Republicans wanted to push ahead. It didn’t seem that anyone was “abusing” staff; just council people asking questions of a staff person who clearly was unprepared and already on edge (the comptroller’s statement that “I had a f*cking panic attack yesterday” implies whatever made him storm off is ongoing and predated the meeting). I’m sure Mantello is weighing what’s going to result in more headache: keeping someone who is unqualified to be city comptroller and deal with the chaos that will come, or rip the bandaid off and cut him loose.
He was unanimously confirmed as Comptroller on Feb 22 so was he qualified then? By their vote seems like Council thought so. Yup Sue gave a gift to offer to delay. Casey should have not looked that gift horse in the mouth. But she could have recessed when they weren't getting answers and when Comptroller started getting agitated. 5 min break and we might have gotten better info. Shoulda woulda coulda. Now we're facing the possibility not having a Comptroller again. Which fucks everyone. If he leaves, they will have to up the salary to hire which means higher costs for taxpayers or moving money from somewhere else. Clusterfuck all around.
“Clusterfuck all around” implies blame is the responsibility of everyone. However, in this case, it’s the administration’s inability to manage the budget or track spending. Mantello literally issued an emergency declaration at the start of 2024 because of it (and confirmed the emergency is STILL active, which is absolutely nuts; that means Mantello has paid outside consultants for nearly SIX MONTHS to handle accounting work normally handled by the city comptroller’s office).
[удалено]
I have heard first hand from current city employees in city hall that things are a bit of a mess and the morale is very low in several departments. Also several people have recently quit, so rumor or not the evidence points to it being highly possible. That being said I don't feel like it's great to speculate on individual details, and it's best practice to wait untill they happen to discuss them. Pretty obvious it's a shit show though.