The purchase of a $51,000 Ford Explorer for the mayor of West Haven prompted concerns again this week about the city鈥檚 ability to manage its finances and its willingness to comply with orders from a state oversight board.
The Municipal Accountability Review Board, which gained oversight of West Haven鈥檚 finances in 2018 after the city racked up a multimillion-dollar budget deficit, has rules in place that require city officials to obtain board approval for any municipal contracts or expenses over $50,000.
But West Haven Mayor Nancy Rossi, who is in her third term, acknowledged Thursday that the new vehicle she is now driving for work and her own personal use was never brought to the MARB for review and approval.
That admission led to what has become a well-rehearsed routine: MARB members voiced anger and exasperation over the city鈥檚 failure to follow the oversight board鈥檚 rules and the city鈥檚 own purchasing policies, after which Rossi and other West Haven officials apologized and promised to do better in the future.
鈥淭his is embarrassing, and it should not happen,鈥� said Kimberly Kennison, a MARB member who was representing the state鈥檚 Office of Policy and Management at the meeting. 鈥淎nd to me, it feels like it鈥檚 deliberate, and I鈥檓 sorry to say that. There鈥檚 no reason for it.鈥�
鈥淲e are trying to do better, and we will continue to get better at this,鈥� Rossi said. 鈥淚 do apologize for this. This was not anyone鈥檚 intention. I know it shouldn鈥檛 have happened. It should not happen. I can鈥檛 go back and unring the bell, if you will. But we are trying our best.鈥�
The lengthy discussion about the mayor鈥檚 new car is just the latest example of the dysfunctional relationship between Rossi鈥檚 administration and the MARB, which was created by the legislature in 2017 to help struggling towns and cities fix their finances.
The MARB鈥檚 frustration with West Haven and its leadership has been growing for years, largely because the city has not made necessary fixes to its financial controls.
Those frustrations began to boil over in late 2021 after a federal corruption investigation revealed that Michael DiMassa, a former state Democratic lawmaker and city employee, stole more than $1.2 million from the West Haven finance department.
In response to the embezzlement scheme, the MARB voted in April 2022 to place West Haven under an even higher level of oversight. That move was intended to give the oversight board more insight and authority over city budget and spending.
But the situation has only deteriorated since then. In early February, several MARB members went so far as to request that the Attorney General鈥檚 office draft legislation that would allow for a full state takeover of the city.
That request, however, was opposed by the MARB chairman Jeffrey Beckham, who also serves as Gov. Ned Lamont鈥檚 budget secretary.
Several MARB members said Thursday that the decision to buy a new car for the mayor without asking for MARB鈥檚 approval was a clear sign the city was still not taking the oversight process seriously.
The fact that the car was purchased for the mayor 鈥� the city鈥檚 top elected leader 鈥攈ighlights the extent of West Haven鈥檚 dysfunction, several MARB members argued.
鈥淭his car is emblematic of my years on this board, and the missteps that continue to happen,鈥� said Stephen Falcigno, a MARB member. 鈥淔or this to slip through at the highest level, I find it disturbing on many levels.鈥�
Rossi and her team also admitted during the meeting that they didn鈥檛 follow the competitive bidding rules required under the city鈥檚 charter. The city never formally solicited offers from car dealerships in order to get the best price for taxpayers, as the law requires.
鈥淵ou would think that if you are buying a vehicle for the mayor鈥檚 office that that would be the first thing people would think of,鈥� said Thomas Hamilton, another MARB member. 鈥淎nd then you layer on top of the fact that you didn鈥檛 even follow your own purchasing procedures in this.鈥�
鈥淭his just violates everything from beginning to end. It is really, really troubling, and I don鈥檛 know what else we can do,鈥� Hamilton added.
Rossi deflected responsibility for the city鈥檚 violations. She told the MARB that she played no role in the purchase of the vehicle or the city鈥檚 failure to bring it to the MARB鈥檚 attention.
That responsibility, she said, rested in the hands of the city鈥檚 former finance director Scott Jackson, who with the city in late February. She also said the city鈥檚 purchasing agent didn鈥檛 flag the contract for the vehicle because he was in the hospital at the time.
Rossi also suggested that it was Louis Esposito, her executive assistant, who failed to follow the city鈥檚 bidding requirements for the new car.
鈥淢r. Esposito鈥檚 role was he went and looked at the car,鈥� Rossi said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 familiar with cars, and he鈥檚 the one who actually assisted in picking it out.鈥�
The financial documents that West Haven officials provided to the MARB this week shows that the vehicle was bought in November 2022.
The purchase of the Ford Explorer came to the MARB鈥檚 attention following local media coverage and public comments by West Haven residents.
The purchase of the vehicle was first mentioned publicly during a February city council meeting. John Lewis, a West Haven resident who challenged Rossi in the Democratic primary in 2021, explained that several residents saw the mayor driving around in a new car and he asked the city council members to look into the purchase.
The contract for the vehicle was subsequently obtained by The New Haven Register.
The car was the focal point of most of the Thursday meeting, but it wasn鈥檛 the only example of the city鈥檚 failure to adhere to the MARB鈥檚 directives.
The city also provided the oversight board with a list of 11 other payments over $50,000 that were made in the past year without the oversight board鈥檚 approval. Most of those included sidewalk and paving projects.
Falcigno, who has been one of the most outspoken critics of West Haven鈥檚 leadership over the past year, told his fellow MARB members that the oversight board also shares some of the blame for the city鈥檚 lack of improvement.
鈥淚 think its an embarrassment not only for the city of West Haven but the MARB also,鈥� Falcigno said. 鈥淪hame on us.鈥�
