To the Editor:
Matt Ward is on our Board of Selectmen and he is also one of our part-time Police officers. In addition, he is very active in the Town’s Little League program. Matt has recently accepted a position with a local accounting firm, so he will not seek reelection to the Board of Selectmen. However, he is seeking to be elected as our Town Treasurer on November 7th.
The Town Treasurer is responsible to manage the Town’s investable funds and works closely with our Finance Director to be sure funds are available to pay the Town’s obligations in a timely manner. The Treasurer must ensure the funds are invested safely and in accordance with audit policies.
Matt’s financial background includes serving as the Interim Finance Director of a neighboring town where he works closely with its Treasurer. That town uses the same accounting software that Old Lyme uses, so Matt is well versed in its features. In fact, when our prior Finance Director was out on leave during last year’s budget season, Matt was able to fill in to enable the budget process to move forward seamlessly.
In contrast, our current Treasurer, Michael Reiter, did not distinguish himself during this period. First, he complained that he was not informed that our Finance Director was out on leave. The Treasurer and the Finance Director are supposed to work closely with each other, so why was Michael in the dark? Perhaps because he wasn’t doing his job? Next, when the Board of Finance asked him for an update on how the Town’s funds were invested, Michael had to be educated about the various accounts and he learned they were not invested very effectively.
Let’s elect Matt Ward to be our Treasurer because he has the knowledge to do the job and the commitment to follow through.
Sincerely,
Timothy Griswold,
Old Lyme, CT.
Editor’s Note: The author is a Republican and the current Old Lyme (OL) First Selectman. He is not seeking re-election. Reiter (D) is the current OL Town Treasurer and endorsed by the Democratic Town Committee for the position in the upcoming election. Ward (U) is endorsed by the Republican Town Committee for the position of Town Treasurer in the same election.
Tim, I take incredible exception to your letter.
First, I don’t think this is how you really feel, so I’m not sure why you have chosen to put your name on this letter. You and Mike have worked very well together for years. In your own words “I guess it’s election season”. Disappointing.
Second, when an employee goes on out on emergency personal medical leave, the person frequently doesn’t inform anyone other than their direct supervisor – which in this situation was you, the CEO of the town. It was your job to then inform anyone who was impacted by the leave, and you didn’t inform Mike. Matt Ward did help out to prepare the budget in the proper format – but Matt also didn’t think to notify Mike of the Finance Directors absence . And still, when Mike did learn of the absence, he initiated the search to find people to fill in – when you Tim didn’t do anything. This actually demonstrates Mike’s quick thinking and willingness to work with anyone – no matter what party – to get the job done most efficiently.
Third, to set the record straight, the Treasurer is not required or expected to attend Board of Finance meetings. In fact, since the Finance Director is usually in attendance at BOF meetings, it would be redundant and a waste of time to have two people from the same department attending. When asked to attend, Mike attended. So please encourage your team to stop suggesting otherwise.
And finally, Mike has managed budgets over 60 million dollars for major defense contracts – clearly he knows his way around a balance sheet. As far as the investing of town funds goes, he again reached out to the experts when he noticed an opportunity for town funds to be invested in better ways due to the national financial climate. This resulted in several HUNDRED THOUSAND dollars of income that the town might have missed out on. Demonstrating yet again his dedication to making sure our town is in the best financial standing possible.
As I’m sure one of the next commenters will point out, I am Mike’s wife and I’m running for Board of Finance. As has already happened, both Mike and I served in these positions previously when I held a seat on the BOF. At that time we consulted the town attorney who confirmed there is no issue with us running (and being married) because as a member of the BOF, I would be approving how to spend taxpayer dollars and as Treasurer, Mike will continue to make sure that tax dollars are spent exactly how tax payers approve and invest available dollars wisely. So we don’t need to hash that out again either.
Suggesting we are anything other than dedicated to this town and ensuring its financial viability is not only misleading, it is a bald-faced lie.
My husband is proud of his record over the last four years and looks forward to serving our town for another four years.
Thank you,
Anna Reiter