Good morning, and thank you for coming here today. I would like to welcome you to the Larkin at Exchange Building. This building was once a warehouse and distribution center for the Larkin Soap Company during Buffalo’s glory days, and then was the home to Graphic Controls for many years. Today, it a shining example of how the old can be converted into the new, and is a symbol of the rebirth of Buffalo and Erie County.

Therefore, I am pleased to announce at the Larkin at Exchange Building my appointments of senior staff in the Office of Erie County Comptroller. These appointments reflect my commitment to the taxpayers of Erie County to serve as their independent monitor of the County’s finances, as well as to make Erie County government more efficient and prevent or stop waste, fraud or abuse.

I have selected Greg Gach as my principal Deputy Comptroller due to his extensive and wide-ranging experience in municipal finance, budgeting and accounting. Greg, a resident of Lancaster, currently serves in the Office of Comptroller as Director of Grant Accounting Services, and has more than 20 years experience in public sector finance. He has served in key roles in the Office of Comptroller, Division of Budget, Management and Finance, Erie County Legislature and Erie Community College.

In addition, Greg brings to the table impressive credentials, including a degree in accounting, a MBA, and many years of budget and finance work, including three and a half years as Controller at ECC.

He comes highly recommended by those who have worked with him in the past and will be tremendous asset to the office. I am delighted that he will serve as my principal deputy.

I have selected Mike Szukala to serve as my Deputy Comptroller for Audit due to his far-reaching experience as a municipal auditor and his strong credentials. Mike, a Buffalo resident, is currently Supervising Auditor for the City of Buffalo’s Comptroller’s Office. He has more than 16 years experience in municipal accounting and auditing, which includes serving as an accountant, auditor, programmer and system administrator, bond registrar, director of revenues, and now supervising auditor in the City of Buffalo.

Like Greg, Mike has an accounting degree and a MBA, and additionally is a Certified Internal Auditor who has performed, and supervised the performance of, financial, management and performance based audits. He has significant expertise in programming and systems administration, skills that will prove invaluable with the continued implementation of the County’s SAP-enterprise resource planning system. I am pleased that he is part of my team.

It should be noted that I have not yet decided upon a person to fill the important position of Associate Deputy Comptroller for cash management and borrowings, as well as for the Secretary to the Comptroller. A decision regarding these two positions will be made following the end of the ongoing competitive search process.

Many have asked about the status of my transition into the office, which I would like to note is going very well. Not only have I met with Interim Comptroller James Hartman, but have talked to him on numerous times about the status of ongoing projects in the comptroller’s office. He has been very helpful in ensuring a smooth transition.

Additionally, I have sat down with all existing senior staff members for detailed briefings on pending matters, as well as having met many of the other staff in the office. I am deeply impressed with the professionalism and skill of the staff and of their commitment to serving our community, qualities I can assure the people of Erie County will continue under my administration. I know we will work well together on behalf of our county.

I look forward to taking office starting January 1st and serving the residents of Erie County as their independent watchdog.