The Dunkirk Common Council unanimously approved adding a comptroller position to City Hall.

Councilors said they amended the law enacting the position after hearing concerns from city residents. Councilman Frank Torain said prior to voting that the final law eliminates redundancies and clearly spells out a division of duties between the fiscal affairs officer and the comptroller.

“We don’t want that to be political, and that person will be highly qualified,” Torain said earlier in the meeting.

The final draft of the law was not in the agenda packet sent to the OBSERVER. A previous draft was in a packet for an earlier meeting.

The comptroller position will apparently get weaved into the city’s new combined Clerk/Treasurer’s Office. Former Councilwoman Nancy Nichols noted in questioning the move to add the position.

“With the recent happenings that are in the clerk’s office, and the closing of it on Fridays to do a catchup, is that really what you want to implement in that office?” said Nichols, speaking during a public comments portion of the meeting. “Who is qualified in this building to be a city comptroller? I don’t think, even for political reasons, there’s anyone here that could be in that position.”

Nichols also questioned the funding of the position. She noted that a grant to fund it for about two years is available, but it is a six-year position.

“Where’s the additional four years of salary coming from, raise taxes again?” Nichols wondered. “What happened to the $40,000-plus that the elected treasurer was getting, we don’t have that position anymore — what happened to that money? Just questions, just questions, and that’s questions council needs to be asking too.”

Councilman-at-large Nick Weiser made some comments about the comptroller law during his report time.

He said: “Council has received substantial feedback from residents, former municipal officials, finance professionals, employees, and internal stakeholders regarding a proposed restructuring of the city’s fiscal and administrative services… As a result of those discussions, additional clarifying revisions and technical corrections have been incorporated into the draft law, including language intended to further define reporting relationships, accountability measures, contractual oversight and financial controls.”

Weiser continued, “Corporation counsel has advised that these revisions do not materially alter the purpose and intent of the legislation, and therefore do not require an additional public hearing under applicable law.”

Weiser acknowledged the “entirely reasonable” concern about paying for the position. “Council has made clear that any long term implementation must remain fiscally responsible and sustainable. Additional language has also been incorporated to ensure the council retains a role in reviewing and approving the contractual framework and compensation structure associated with the position.”

Weiser went on, “At the same time, I think it is important to recognize why this conversation is occurring in the first place. Over the last several years, the city’s financial structure has proven inadequate in terms of internal controls, oversight, continuities and separation of responsibilities. The elimination of the elected treasurer position by the voters created both a necessity and an opportunity for the city to strengthen and modernize its financial management structure moving forward.

“One point emphasized repeatedly throughout this process…is that stronger internal checks, professional oversight and continuity in financial operations are critical if Dunkirk is going to restore credibility with regulators, auditors, bond markets, grant agencies, and the public. While some of the listed duties may appear to overlap on paper, the intent is to create appropriate internal checks and balances, not duplication of effort, and to ensure no single office operates without oversight or accountability.”