Ex-Hartford treasurer addresses reports that she entered office after her retirement
Former Hartford Treasurer Carmen Sierra is pushing back after the mayor said she returned to City Hall this week following her retirement, saying she was helping staff transition and denying reports that she shredded documents.
Sierra held a press conference on Friday morning, two days after Mayor Arunan Arulampulam said Hartford police escorted her from the treasurer’s office.
She said she emailed her letter of retirement to Arulampulam, City Council President T.J. Clarke II, and the Pension Commission late on Monday evening.
“After much reflection, I made the difficult decision to retire from public service after 14 years serving the City of Hartford so that I could devote my time and attention to my family during this important chapter of my life,” Sierra said.
She said the recent death of her mother and her father’s declining health led to her decision.
Sierra said on Tuesday, the day after she submitted her retirement letter, she “returned to the office and immediately began the transition process with [her] staff to help ensure an orderly and responsible transition of the treasurer’s office.”
She returned to the office again on Wednesday to continue answering questions and assisting employees, Sierra said.
“My purpose was to support my staff and to help ensure the transition was done in a professional and orderly manner,” Sierra said. “The administration never contacted me or at any point prohibited me from entering the office. And the city never engaged in any exit interviews to collect the property.”
Sierra also denied reports that she shredded documents.
“I did not shred any documents. I don’t have a shredder in my office,” she said. “I have a lot of papers, and there were staff [and] people present. I am concerned about the misinformation that went out to the public.”
Cynthia Jennings, a private attorney representing Sierra, reiterated Sierra’s comments.
“We have to ask ourselves who made the call to bring in six police officers and the chief to her office, reporting that she was quote-unquote shredding documents when there is no shredder in the treasurer’s office,” Jennings said.
Jennings said paper records are placed in locked bins and later collected by a shredding agency. She said everything in that box is still in it to this day.
On Wednesday, Arulampalam said the city received reports that Sierra had accessed the treasurer’s office “without explanation” two days after she left. He said the Hartford Police Department was asked to assist “to ensure city property remained secure.”
“While not all facts are clear yet, it is unacceptable for any former elected official to access secure city facilities after vacating their position,” Arulampalam said in a statement.
City officials have not said what property they believed needed to be secured or whether anything was removed from or accessed inside the office.
The incident comes as Sierra’s office and the city’s pension fund were scheduled to undergo an audit by the Hartford Internal Audit Commission, according to city documents.
Sierra said Friday that despite retiring from public office, “my commitment to the city and residents will never change.”
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