16 charges leveled at Lynn CFO

LYNN – City Chief Financial Officer Richard Fortucci was grilled on several of 16 allegations of wrongdoing Tuesday during a special hearing before the City Council called to determine if he should be removed from his six-figure job.At press time, the proceedings were still under way at City Hall and councilors were not expected to complete the list in a single session.Fortucci has been suspended by Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy as chief financial officer pending the outcome of the hearing and currently serves solely as city treasurer.Six city council votes are required to remove him, according to City Council President Timothy Phelan, who presided at the hearing. Ward 7 Councilor Richard Ford was absent.Among the accusations is failing to comply with American Recovery and Reinvestment (ARRA) grants, which jeopardized Lynn police and fire monies. Kennedy said a state auditor expressed concern the grants would be held up because the monies were not segregated into special accounts under Fortucci’s supervision.Under questioning by Fortucci’s attorney, Ronald Ranta, the mayor acknowledged the grants were ultimately received at no loss to the city. Her response prompted Ranta to ask the mayor, “Is that another way of saying zero dollars?”Councilor-at-large Paul Crowley asked Fortucci why he failed to segregate the monies as required by the grant requirements. Fortucci claimed previous auditors never questioned the practice.Fortucci was also questioned why he delayed a $125,000 shipment of computers purchased for the city with ARRA funds meant for school use.According to Fortucci, he intended to make certain use of the school computers at City Hall was legal, since school and municipal budgets are separate.Fortucci suggested such responsibilities should fall to Comptroller John Pace, adding he seldom meets together with Pace and the mayor.The third allegation aired involved Fortucci’s attempt to pay a company $23,000 after its contract with the city had expired. The Law Department had determined the payment should not be made to the payroll company, ADP.Fortucci testified Tuesday he was unaware ADP no longer had a contract with the city. The mayor’s lawyer, David Grunebaum, asserted a chief financial officer should be savvy to the status of city contracts, especially those linked to municipal payroll.The embattled department head was also accused of failing to implement polices and procedures recommended in a 2009 independent audit. The mayor testified Fortucci did not respond to the audit recommendations. “He did not and he has not,” Kennedy said Tuesday.The mayor noted some municipal offices, such as the Department of Community Development, were spending from separate checkbooks rather than through the city’s general ledger. She wanted the practice stopped.Fortucci testified the city does not have the resources to implement recommendations contained in the audit. Besides, getting an audience with the mayor is difficult, he said in what became a refrain.Although he could not recall getting an email from the mayor about making changes recommended in the audit, Fortucci conceded his name does appear on the email.Crowley suggested the lines of communication among the mayor, Fortucci and other municipal offices be strengthened and streamlined.The fifth allegation discussed Tuesday contends Fortucci failed to provide accurate budget information to the mayor during the fiscal 2011 budget process. The mayor gave several examples in her testimony. For example, one department’s budget item had been reduced by 90 percent, she said, adding that when asked about it Fortucci theorized it was a typographical error.In another instance, a Parking Department request for $113,000 was recorded as $10,000, she said, adding, “Things were lost in translation. They didn’t match up. This was a simple Excel spreadsheet.”The mayor further testified, “I felt the CFO had really let me down. When I went to make cuts, I was relying on faulty figures.”When Kenn