HAMDEN — Curtis Eatman, Hamden’s former finance-turned-economic development director, is coming back to government center.
Eatman left the town in May to take over Bloomfield’s finance department, he said.
It would be a short time away.
The recent departure of Scott Jackson, who served as finance director during the last nine months of Mayor Curt Balzano Leng’s term, left the post empty when Mayor Lauren Garrett took office in November.
Garrett announced Monday she was appointing Eatman to the position.
“As soon as I took office we were motivated — very motivated — to look for a finance director, and there were so many compliments about Curtis Eatman’s leadership style,” Garrett said. “He was very proactive about working with everyone in the finance department and giving them feedback on job performance.”
She reached out to Eatman, who was willing to resume the job. Eatman will start Jan. 10, according to a release from Garrett’s office. He is considered “acting” finance director until the Legislative Council votes to approve his appointment.
“We’re really excited to get him back,” Garrett said.
Eatman took the helm of the finance department in early 2020, just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A year into Eatman’s tenure, Leng, the former mayor, made a series of changes to town leadership. He brought Jackson in to run the finance department and appointed Eatman as economic development director.
After several months in his new position, Eatman opted to take the Bloomfield job. Now he is excited to come back to Hamden, he said.
“I sort of felt that business was left unfinished,” he said. “To get a chance to come back to that is a pleasure.”
Eatman aims to “continue to improve the town’s finances,” he said.
In a town that boasts one of the highest area tax rates and had highest per capita debt statewide in 2019, that’s no easy task.
But Eatman, who previously served as deputy commissioner of finance for Schenectady, N.Y., and as a senior fiscal analyst for the New York state Senate, seems unfazed.
“It’s a great opportunity to come back,” he said. “I am grateful for Mayor Garrett’s appointment and her trust and confidence, and I’m really grateful for the opportunity to work with such a wonderful finance staff and a wonderful team in the town of Hamden.”
meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com
