The City Council approves the appointment of TJ Plante to serve as the city’s chief administrative financial officer.
Photo credit: Holyoke Media
HOLYOKE — The city of Holyoke officially has its first chief administrative financial officer after the City Council confirmed the appointment during its Aug. 4 meeting.
Mayor Joshua Garcia announced Plante’s appointment on July 27, and the council was the final roadblock to approval. Plante will now start his tenure on Aug. 10.
City Council President Tessa Murphy-Romboletti explained that the council typically refers the appointment to the Public Service Committee before it comes back to the full City Council for a vote. However, the council wanted to expedite Plante’s appointment.
Murphy-Romboletti stated a few reasons why she asked the City Council to expedite the process, including timing, which she said is critical. After the Aug. 4 meeting, the City Council will not meet again until Sept. 2, which would delay Plante’s start date for a position the city has urgently been trying to fill.
Murphy-Romboletti also explained that Plante is someone many city councilors have already met. Plante has been serving as a consultant in Holyoke for over a year and has worked with the City Council to guide in drafting the Municipal Finance Modernization Act. He’s also participated in the budget process and built working relationships with City Council members and city staff.
“Unlike a typical appointment, councilors have already had significant exposure to his work and expertise,” Murphy-Romboletti stated.
The City Council president further shared that an outside professional reinforced the urgency of the situation. She said that the Department of Local Services and their outside auditors shared that Garcia intended to appoint Plante as the city’s CAFO during weekly calls.
Murphy-Romboletti said the auditors and DLS were unanimously enthusiastic about the selection, spoke highly of his qualifications, and emphasized the sooner he can begin, the better given the important financial work currently underway.
The City Council agreed with Murphy-Romboletti and voted to appoint Plante, who previously served as Springfield’s CAFO for 16 years before stepping down in 2023. His agreed-upon salary is $187,500 annually, representing the midpoint of the approved salary range for the position.
The creation of the position reflects the city’s effort to modernize Holyoke’s financial operations, strengthen internal controls, improve long-term planning and ensure taxpayers receive accountable and transparent government, according to the city.
City Councilor Patti Devine talked about the experience and expertise they are adding to Holyoke by hiring Plante, who was initially hired in Springfield in 2007 as the budget director under the state-imposed Financial Control Board when Springfield was on the brink of bankruptcy, facing a $41 million deficit and junk bond status.
“I would like to congratulate him for all the work he’s done,” Devine stated. “A lot of people may not realize what the control board was in Springfield years and years and years ago, and he was part of getting that out of the control of the state, so I think we’re very lucky to have him.”
