WHY IS THE CITY HIRING A DEPUTY CITY COMPTROLLER? NEED OR POLITICS?
Last January, the Mandel City Administration was praising the hiring of Jeff Nogid as the new LB Comptroller. Nogid was hired despite the fact that he wasn't a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) like every Comptroller in LB's past, yet he did work with LB Democrat party Chairman MIke Zapson in Nassau County. He didn't have the education and certification to do the job but he did have the right political connections for the Mandel Administration.
It appears the inexperience paid off because it seems Nogid needs some help. That's because a recent job posting indicates he needs the help. According to the New York Conference of Mayors (NYCOM) website, the city is hiring a "Deputy Comptroller" whose job description mirrors that of a comptroller. The city never needed or had "Deputy Comptroller". The city did have a person doing similar duites when Nogid was hired. She was a Principal Account Clerk who had worked for the city for nearly 25 years but she was forced into an early and unwanted retirement because the city "couldn't afford to keep her" on the job due to the so-called "fiscal crisis."
The NYCOM advertisement raises more questions. For instance, since Nogid isn't a CPA one would think the Mandel Administration would hire one, right? But in the long list of qualifications, being an CPA isn't one of them! I guess Mandel has different priorities; maybe politics?
So what is Nogid doing wrong? Is it because the city still hasn't produced the Independent Financial Audit that, by state law, was due on October 1, 2012 and would show the true state of the so-called "inherited deficit"? Has the report not been done? Did he know about the deadline? Or, could it be, like I have been arguing for over a year, that the report hasn't been done because the "inherited deficit" isn't even close to the $14 million the Mandel Administration said it was? Keep in mind this is the same "inherited deficit" that Mandel said caused our taxes to go up 17%! Has Nogid failed because he hasn't ran a year to date expense and revenue reports which would provide insight into the state of the city's fiances since the Mandel Administration took over a year ago? Does Nogid know how to run that report? Prior to the Mandel Administration, these reports were run monthly and given to each council member for their review. Oversights? Incompetence?
Here's what a member of the Mandel Administration had to say about Nogid when he was hired. "Mr. Nogid has a proven track record of success when it comes to cutting costs and cash management, both in the private and public sector,” City Council President Fran Adelson said. “The knowledge he brings in terms of strategic planning, spending controls, accountability and process improvement will help enable us to bring our city back to fiscal stability.”
I guess someone was fooled.
Here's another scenario to think about. Will the Mandel Administration hire someone who actually knows something about municipal finance? Or will Mandel hire just another political friend and family member? The way I see it, either way there is a serious problem. Either Nogid is incompetent and needs help, or the Mandel Administration has another friend or family member in the hiring pipeline ready to be hired at taxpayer's expense.
Either way, its wrong and the taxpayers should be outraged.
