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CT city treasurer pushes back against sharp public critics.A week after the former Connecticut state treasurer revealed he had resigned from the Hartford Pension Commission amid what he said are “significant fiduciary and ethical concerns,” the city treasurer has pushed back, citing what she said is the “enormous success” of the pension fund under her watch.Hartford City Treasurer Carmen Sierra took this stand in a letter to Mayor Arunan Arulampalam and City Council President T.J.Clarke, in which she addressed the fund and claims by former Hartford Audit Commission Chairman Bruce Rubenstein, who was publicly critical of Sierra after he was not reappointed to that panel.Sierra’s letter was also cc-ed to other City Council members and city officials.Rubenstein has said, about what he believes motivated him not being reappointed to the commission, “I believe that she (Sierra) knew we were talking about an audit and investigation of the pension fund; she would have known we were interested in an audit.” But Sierra maintains that Rubenstein’s claim that his replacement was retribution for the Internal Audit Commission’s planned audit of the Pension Fund “is factually incorrect.” Rubenstein’s successor, “Attorney Kate Torres was confirmed on April 13, 2026 before Mr.Rubenstein convened any meeting to discuss a potential audit.Under the City Charter, Ms.Torres was seated immediately upon confirmation.Therefore, the April 15 Internal Audit Commission meeting held after her confirmation could be challenged as improper, as Mr.Rubenstein had already been replaced.Any suggestion of ‘retribution’ originates solely from Mr.Rubenstein, not from this office,” Sierra’s letter states.Rubenstein had been on the commission since 2013; the audit has since been reapproved.Rubenstein, however, said following the release of the letter by Sierra, that “Treasurer Sierra Sierra mentioned a replacement to me about a month before Attorney Torres was nominated and confirmed, and well after the wheels were in motion to audit the MERF and after people within her orbit told me of problems with her and the MERF and the Treasury Department.” Arulampalam said, “it’s good to see a response from Treasurer Sierra on the concerns raised by former members of the Pension Commission and the Internal Audit Commission.“I look forward to reviewing the results of the audit and continuing our efforts to serve Hartford residents, pensioners, and employees with openness and transparency,” Arulampalam said.Sierra’s letter does not name former state treasurer Shawn Wooden, who submitted his resignation from the Pension Commission late last month.Wooden said in his letter that he no longer feels “comfortable serving on the commission” in light of “significant fiduciary and ethical concerns” under the city’s treasurer.Wooden’s letter said that “The ability of the commission to fulfill its fiduciary duties to the Municipal Employees Retirement Fund (“MERF”) and the OPEB Trust have been undermined by the treasurer.” He asked that the city, “among other things, encourage the Audit Commission to focus on ensuring that all expenditure of pension fund dollars have exclusively been used for the benefit of the MERF.Furthermore, I implore you to support a robust review of the entire Treasury and Commission operations, including a review of the hiring processes and the treatment of employees.” Wooden’s letter echoed one sent by former Pension Commission Chairman Joshua Gottfried upon his removal from the commission by Sierra in April.That timing coincided with Sierra’s replacement of Rubenstein from the Internal Audit Commission.Gottfried’s letter to the mayor and city council had outlined problems he said are a result of Sierra’s control over the Pension Commission.He wrote, “In practice, this has required that all communication and decision-making flow through a single person.This has limited transparency and collaboration, restricted direct access to subject-matter experts, and impaired the commission’s ability to operate as an independent fiduciary body.Of note, recognizing these concerns, the commission voted in December 2025 to establish an ad hoc Governance Committee to review all governing documents and create policies and procedures to allow the pension commission to fulfill its fiduciary duties.However, our efforts to convene have been thwarted by the treasurer at every step along the way.” Wooden, however, said in his letter that, Gottfried’s “merely scratches the surface of the problems with how the treasurer has compromised the mission and responsibilities of the commission.I support the recommendations outlined in the letter.” Wooden did not specify why he was raising questions about “the hiring processes and the treatment of employees.” Wooden, who also has served as leader of the Hartford City Council, was appointed to the commission in April 2024, after his term as treasurer of the state of Connecticut ended.Clarke has said he would speak to Arulampalam about next steps, and noted, Wooden’s “immediate resignation has brought to light additional concerns within the city’s treasury department that require attention.” Sierra did not in her letter address specific concerns raised by Wooden or Gottfried.But, in her letter, Sierra wrote that she believes “It is important to ground this discussion with the actual, measurable indicators of our success.” She noted in her letter that the performance of the Municipal Employees’ Retirement Fund “is measured by three core responsibilities,” and these are: accurate and timely payment of pensions, “we pay out approximately $10 million every month to retirees, accurately, on time and without fail”; preservation and growth of the pension fund, “the fund has achieved an average return of over 11%, far exceeding our expected actuarial rate of return 6.75% with lower risk than a majority of our peers”; and responsible management of administrative expenses, “by ordinance, expenses are capped at 1% Fund value.Our annual budget is typically 40% below that limit, and our actual expenses remain below budget.” Further Sierra wrote, “during my tenure, the total value of the Pension Fund has grown to just over $1.2 billion, an increase of approximately $127 million while having paid out $119 million in benefits to retirees over this time period.I am proud of this enormous success and could not have achieved this without the assistance of an excellent team of highly qualified individuals who work with me every day in the Treasurer’s Office.” Sierra said she would “welcome a proper audit at any time.Every prior audit has made our systems stronger, our controls tighter, and our performance even better.” She noted that a former Pension Commission member, Peter Stevens, who served as chair for more than 19 years, wrote to the mayor on his own initiative, saying, “Annual budgets were scrutinized and investment decisions analyzed and vetted and made with rigorous oversight and care.The appropriate system of checks and balances were in place and followed without exception.I find the current references and any innuendoes of anything but the above unequivocally invalid.” Sierra said that, “from the day I took over, I have continued the office’s long-standing tradition of excellence, transparency and service.My door remains open, and I take pride in being accessible to pensioners, employees, and the residents of our great city.” Sierra, who was elected to a four-year term in November of 2023, “is responsible for the pension portfolio of over one billion dollars.” Sierra also “administers the city’s deferred compensation program and its pension benefits, serves as co-issuer of all city bonds, and invests and disburses city trust funds,” according to the office.Sierra appointed Catherine Torres, who was confirmed by the city council, to replace Rubenstein on the Audit Commission.Arulampalam appointed Michelle Parotta to replace Gottfried.