Mayor Hannen Brings Cranford One Step Closer to 'AAA' Rating, Resident Says

The following is a letter to the editor provided by a Cranford resident.

To the Editor: 

Mayor Tom Hannen has proven yet again that he makes the right decisions, at the right time, for the right reasons. Wasting no time, he hired a full-time Cranford CFO in 2013 for the express purpose of replacing our current financial consultants, Government Strategies Group--asap. Mayor Hannen quickly established that only a dedicated, full-time CFO--not just a consultant--is required to resolve Cranford's complex, long-standing financial problems.

A 10/9/13 Patch article, however, was incorrect inasmuch that the current consultant group was not hired during the mayor's 2013 tenure, but was brought in prior to Mayor Hannen taking office.

By the consultant's own admission, some of Cranford's financial problems go back twenty years. Unfortunately, it seems not just a question of how how transactions were incorrectly booked in our general ledger, but also the lack of fiscal controls down to the level of simple purchase orders. 

Financial problems of this breadth and scope do not disappear overnight with a few clerical journal entries. To this end, and by hiring of a CFO, Mayor Hannen has in effect said "The buck stops here" and has begun to build an in-house finance department, and therefore one-step closer to a AAA bond rating. 

For these reasons, I am confident that Mayor Tom Hannen's business acumen will certainly prevail for Cranford.

Bill Montani