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Millions in debt, troubled Chester names CFO

The City of Chester on Wednesday appointed its first-ever chief financial officer, a position created just weeks after an economic consulting firm warned the troubled Delaware County city that it was in millions of dollars of debt - and at risk of doubling it if the city did not turn around its finances soon.

The City of Chester on Wednesday appointed its first-ever chief financial officer, a position created just weeks after an economic consulting firm warned the troubled Delaware County city that it was in millions of dollars of debt - and at risk of doubling it if the city did not turn around its finances soon.

Chester Councilman Nafis Nichols, 31, resigned from his seat on the five-person council, which he has held since 2012, to take the new position. He begins immediately.

City Council and Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland appointed William Morgan, 25, a Chester resident who began working for the city in January as the director of purchasing, to take Nichols' seat.

As Chester's new top finance official, Nichols inherits the deep financial problems of a city that has had little control over its own spending for decades. In 1995, Chester, devastated by the collapse of its erstwhile manufacturing economy, entered the state's Act 47 program, a last-resort plan for distressed cities that provides state funding and other assistance.

The city has languished in the program for more than two decades.

Now, with Chester carrying $16.3 million of accumulated debt, consultants estimate that if no corrective actions are made, the deficit could swell to more than $37 million by 2020.

To correct its spending, the Philadelphia consulting firm Econsult Solutions recommended in August drastic changes: raising income taxes, cutting overtime payments, and finding ways to increase economic development. The firm also recommended Chester reduce its police and fire staffs. Kirkland has vowed to not cut these departments.

As a councilman and deputy mayor, Nichols had overseen the handling of Chester's finances as director of accounts, finance, and human resources for more than four years. According to his LinkedIn account, he graduated from Delaware State University in 2007 before taking a job as coordinator for the City of Chester. He was elected to Council in 2012 alongside former Mayor John Linder, who was defeated by Kirkland in November 2015.

The decision to appoint Nichols to CFO came as a joint decision between Chester's Council and the state's Department of Community and Economic Development, said Aigner Cleveland, a spokeswoman for Chester.

The city Wednesday also appointed the accounting firm Heffler, Radetich & Saitta LLP, based in Philadelphia, to serve in a deputy CFO capacity, she said.

cmccabe@philly.com

610-313-8113 @mccabe_caitlin