From the NH Register

Betz tapped for Hamden finance director


Michael Gannon, Register Staff
12/01/2005

HAMDEN — Mayor Craig Henrici is calling on an ally from his days as Legislative Council president to help whip Hamden’s finance office back into shape.
J. Michael Betz, who served as finance director from 1987 to 1990, has been serving as interim finance director this week, and his nomination will be sent to the council for confirmation Monday. He is coming from North Branford, where he had been serving as manager of purchasing, central services and risk management.
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"He has extensive experience and a distinguished career in municipal finance," Henrici said. "I first met him when he was finance director and I was president of the council. We became close friends and we stayed in touch. When he heard that I was running (for mayor), we began talking more and more. He’s very competent; he’s a good friend and he already has the department humming."Betz, 59, is an Ohio native who was raised in Hartford. He has lived in the New Haven region for the last 35 years. His other posts include that of deputy comptroller in New Haven from 1990 to 1995.The finance office has been subject to turmoil, having eight separate interim, acting or permanent finance directors since December 2003.Along with the revolving door Betz has staff vacancies that are not budgeted to be filled until at least January; an outstanding audit report that will be submitted beyond its Dec. 31 deadline, and a council that by some accounts could not be counted on to support the office in tough times."I didn’t think I was walking into a situation where these things couldn’t be solved," Betz said.He said the audit of the 2004-05 budget, which former director Don Gray said in the fall could take until June to finish, is on track to be done by the end of January.Henrici said part of the solution to the staffing and audit troubles has been the addition of Robert Tait. Tait, currently the comptroller for Fairfield, has been working on the audit after hours and on weekends on a contractual basis since October. He added that Tom Pesce, Board of Education business manager, has been lending a hand on the town’s side of the books.