Council: No to Caron as Lynn CFO

LYNN – Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy lashed out at City Council members for “political maneuvering” after they voted 8-3 Tuesday against Chief Assessor Peter Caron to be chief financial officer, with several citing loyalty to Richard Fortucci, the man Kennedy wants to replace.?I?m extremely disappointed and surprised with the eight councilors who voted against Peter Caron. They rejected him on no firm basis,” Kennedy said.Kennedy said she will decide today if she plans to appoint Caron as acting chief financial officer. Fortucci?s term expired on July 1 and the City Charter gives Kennedy authority to name a CFO subject to council confirmation.She submitted the name of Caron, a 15-year city employee, to the council last Friday and – prior to Tuesday night?s confirmation vote – said Caron advised her on utility property taxation questions and on city free cash – tax dollars certified by the state after the city?s accounts are reckoned and balanced.?I?ve consulted with him on a number of complex issues. He is experienced and competent,” she said Tuesday.But councilors offered several reasons for rejecting Caron as chief financial officer. Council President Timothy Phelan said Caron and current Chief Financial Officer Richard Fortucci have done a good job in their respective titles.?I like Peter Caron. He?s a class act, but he doesn?t have the educational background to be the chief financial officer. The CFO of a large city, at a minimum – you should have a college degree,” Phelan said.The charter speaks in general terms about a CFO nominee needing education and experience required to do the job. Caron on Tuesday said he attended Cornell University and Salem State College for three years before “personal reasons” forced him to terminate his studies.Caron?s resume outlines a 31-year assessing career, including chief assessing jobs in the city of Salem and city of Beverly prior to his Lynn hiring in 1998. “Selected achievements” Caron lists in the resume include “increasing net collections by about $90,000.”He said municipalities seeking CFOs often factor in “experience equivalency” in weighing work history and education.Councilor Daniel Cahill voted for Caron?s nomination along with councilors Brendan Crighton and Gordon “Buzzy” Barton.Phelan and councilors Hong Net, Richard Colucci, Darren Cyr, Rick Ford, William Trahant Jr., Wayne Lozzi and Peter Capano opposed the nomination with Capano recalling how Fortucci was the “subject of public humiliation” in 2011 when Kennedy leveled more than a dozen charges criticizing Fortucci?s job conduct.The council held hearings on the accusations and voted 11-0 to reinstate Fortucci as chief financial officer.?I?m a loyal person at heart. Richard Fortucci has been there for us,” Trahant said Tuesday.Kennedy on Tuesday pointed out that Caron?s appointment represents her decision to exercise her discretion to appoint a chief financial officer in the same manner her two predecessors appointed their own choices for the job.?Now it?s time for me to have my choice,” she said.She chastised councilors for rejecting Caron and said the vote against him “looks like political maneuvering in an election year.”Cyr called Kennedy?s claim “pure nonsense” and said Fortucci “has proven himself.”Cahill, with Colucci and Lozzi in agreement, said the city?s financial health has improved to the point where the city no longer needs a CFO.Although Kennedy said Tuesday?s vote should not have been a referendum on Caron?s or Fortucci?s abilities, the criticisms she leveled at Fortucci in 2011 were followed a year later with her criticism of Fortucci?s decision to name Stephen Spencer comptroller. She said Spencer was not her first choice for the job.Abolishing the CFO title, which would have boosted Caron?s $104,000 annual pay by about $35,000, is a multi-step process involving charter changes and legislative review.Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].