East Hartford Mayor Michael P. Walsh Welcomes Former Office of Policy and Management Secretary Melissa McCaw as the Town’s New Finance Director
East Hartford, CT— Mayor Michael P. Walsh is honored to announce that former Office of Policy and Management (OPM) Secretary Melissa McCaw will be joining the Town of East Hartford as its new Finance Director effective March 14, 2022.
McCaw made history as the first African American and first woman to ever serve in the senior administration role of OPM Secretary in Connecticut, a position of considerable clout within the executive branch of state government with oversight over the state’s budget and finances and overall legislative policy for the administration.
“I am thrilled to bring a public finance rock star like Melissa McCaw to join our team as Finance Director for our town,” said East Hartford Mayor Mike Walsh. “Melissa brings unmatched expertise in managing budgets and reducing debt with a crystal clear commitment to public policies that invest in infrastructure, improve our public schools, and build the kind of economic climate that helps our entrepreneurs start and grow businesses, and create the jobs of today and tomorrow. I cannot think of a better professional, more well-suited than Secretary McCaw to help guide our town’s budgets into the future as we position ourselves to help sustain the Hartford region as an economic powerhouse.”
Mayor Walsh expressed thanks to Governor Ned Lamont for the opportunity to allow Secretary McCaw join the East Hartford team as the town is poised for 2022 to be a year to remember for our community.
“I really want to thank Secretary Melissa McCaw for her exemplary public service in guiding our state to the best fiscal position Connecticut has seen in decades,” said Governor Lamont. “Melissa is absolutely brilliant when it comes to public finance, and I think everyone can see she is the consummate professional and does an excellent job breaking down sometimes complex fiscal policy in a way most people can understand. She truly does extraordinary work and we will miss her expertise in our administration. But I am glad Melissa is staying in public finance in Connecticut and excited to have her as a partner in East Hartford. I wish her the best and I congratulate Mayor Walsh on picking one of the real all-stars on my team to serve as Finance Director. East Hartford’s budget will be in good hands.”
During her tenure, McCaw guided budgets to be in surplus for three years in a row, while helping to finance extraordinary actions taken by state government to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The state budget reserve fund is at its maximum level and the state has made 100% of its commitment to pay down its pension debt for each of the last three fiscal years, all factors that led to Connecticut’s first bond rating upgrade in 20 years.
“I am so proud of all the work we have done together over the last three years, we have accomplished so much for our taxpayers and citizens,” said OPM Secretary McCaw. “I am so grateful to Governor Lamont for his faith in me and for giving me the opportunity to be part of this team and make a difference for our state. We have weathered the pandemic, expanded services, maintained a budget surplus and paid down our pension liabilities by nearly $2 Billion over our annual payments without raising a penny in taxes. Now, we are in a very strong fiscal position and poised to offer tax relief to Connecticut residents and especially seniors. I am going to miss this work and our great team, but I am very excited to start a new role helping to shore up the municipal finances in East Hartford and work with Mayor Walsh, who I got to know working together at OPM. We are committed to balancing budgets, lowering borrowing costs and pension liabilities, and freeing up resources for community investment and economic development. This will be an exciting and rewarding new chapter!”
In her new role as Finance Director for the Town of East Hartford, Secretary McCaw will work directly with Mayor Walsh to plan and execute annual city budgets, identify strategic goals towards economic development and vitality and invest in municipal services. East Hartford has an annual budget of just over $200 Million with a population of approximately 50,000 residents and a municipal grand list totaling $3.9 Billion.