New Chief Administrative and Financial Officer Appointed in Springfield

Lee Erdmann, the former Chief Operating Officer of the City of Hartford, Connecticut has been appointed by Mayor Domenic J. Sarno as the first Chief Administrative and Financial Officer (CAFO) in the history of the City of Springfield.  Springfield recently emerged from five years of financial oversight by a state-appointed Financial Control Board, which disbanded last year with the requirement that this new position be create and filled.     (Click photo for caption)

Erdmann, who brings more than thirty years of progressively challenging municipal government experience to Springfield, will be responsible for coordinating, administering and supervising all municipal financial services and activities. His appointment marks the end of a six month long search process conducted by a CAFO Screening Committee appointed by Mayor Sarno, who also hired the Collins Center to help the Committee conduct a national search.  Twenty-four candidates submitted applications for the CAFO position and five were invited to interview with the Screening Committee.  According to the Mayor, "the Collins Center provided first rate recruitment assistance to the City. We would not have had the pool of candidates to choose from that we did have without their diligent efforts."

The Center was pleased to assist Springfield make what Mayor Sarno described as "one of the most important hiring decisions in the city's history."  Finding the CAFO for Springfield was the latest accomplishment of the Center's Recruitment and Interim Management practice. The Communities of Princeton, Plymouth, Winthrop, Princeton and Hopkinton have also been successfully served by the Center. The Center is currently leading the search for a new Treasurer of the City of Worcester.

Steven Bradley, Vice-President of Government and Community Relations for Bay State Health and Chair of the Screening Committee commented that the recruitment process for the job of Springfield CAFO was conducted "in a nonpolitical manner that engenders the confidence of the residents of Springfield, businesses located in the City, the Secretary of Administration and Finance and the taxpayers of the Commonwealth."

The Collins Center provides expert executive recruitment assistance to municipal and state appointing authorities. Our philosophy centers on the belief that the biggest risk officials face in making an important appointment is being forced to choose the best person from a mediocre pool of candidates. The Center's efforts focus on ensuring that public decision-makers have good choices.

Please contact Dick Kobayashi by email at richard.kobayashi@umb.edu or by telephone at (617) 489-8812 for additional information. Stephen McGoldrick, Deputy Director of the Collins Center, can also be contacted about recruitment and interim management services at stephen.mcgoldrick@umb.edu or at (617) 287-4022.