In the 1980s, Leona Helmsley became infamous for her extreme narcissism and sense of entitlement. The fabulously wealthy widow of real-estate magnate Harry Helmsley, she was notorious for her abusive treatment of staff, earning the sobriquet “the Queen of Mean.”
For years, Helmsley failed to pay her taxes, memorably declaring that “taxes are for little people.” She ultimately learned otherwise. Convicted of tax evasion, she was sentenced to 16 years in prison (later reduced), served 19 months in federal custody, and paid millions of dollars in fines.
A troubling parallel emerges in Minita Sanghvi’s conduct during her tenure as Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Finance. It has become apparent that Sanghvi treated the position as a vanity title rather than a full-time responsibility. I have documented that her automatic city email reply explicitly stated that she regarded the role as part-time and directed inquiries instead to her Deputy.
Although Sanghvi earned an accounting degree in India, she appears to have had little interest in applying those skills to the actual management of the city’s finances. Instead, she seemed far more engaged in partisan-war issues and running for other offices. According to the city auditor’s findings, the city’s finances were allowed to deteriorate under her watch, with little meaningful oversight.
Sources report that Sanghvi treated employees with condescension and indifference. This management style helps explain not only the disastrous state of the city’s financial records but also the sudden departure of Christine Gillmette-Brown, who had competently managed those records for nearly three decades.
In short, Sanghvi’s gross negligence and arrogant management have left the city’s financial records in disarray. Yet in comments recently made to the Times Union, she appears largely unaware of her own failures.
Minita Sanghvi Claims Everything Was Fine
Former Commissioner of Finance Minita Sanghvi has stated that she does not understand how the department fell into disarray, asserting that when she left office at the end of December, everything was orderly.
“We submitted all reports as required by city and state laws last year,” Sanghvi wrote in an email to the Times Union on Friday. “I provided quarterly reports to council. The only issues the auditors found last year were stemming from other departments handling state and federal grants paperwork and handling of fixed assets—not from finance.”
Times Union, February 7, 2026
The auditor’s comments directly contradict this claim. According to the auditor, the city’s books are in serious disorder. The Finance Director selected by Sanghvi after Gillmette-Brown’s retirement proved incapable of performing even the most basic functions, including reconciling accounts. The extensive list of failures identified by the auditor and reported to Commissioner Kiernan—detailed in a prior post—is deeply disturbing.
It borders on the bizarre for Sanghvi to assert that “everything was orderly” when she left office. Does she truly fail to understand that the mismanagement documented by the auditor extends back at least a full year?
Equally troubling is Sanghvi’s attempt to shift blame to other departments for the handling of state and federal grants. Sources report that Sanghvi limited her staff’s interactions with other departments. This claim reflects either remarkable cynicism or a profound misunderstanding of her own responsibilities. Fiscal accountability for these grants resided squarely within her Finance Department.
Finally, the abrupt resignation—without notice—of the Finance Director hired by Sanghvi to replace Gillmette-Brown, just prior to Commissioner Kiernan assuming oversight of the department speaks volumes about morale, discipline, and leadership within the department.
BK Keramati Rejects Temporary Freeze
Commissioner Kiernan told her colleagues at the Council table that any consideration of creating new positions must be put off until the city can get its finances in order to determine its true state.
Public Works Commissioner BK Keramati responded to the Times Union as follows:
“A lot of these hiring decisions, programs and so forth have come into being for a good reason,” Keramati said. “The reason is to serve the city and if we start delaying these actions, I’m afraid that may wind up costing the city even more.”
BK Keramati ot the Times Union February 7, 2026
Keramati’s concern appears to stem from his desire to create a new managerial position in his department, which is anticipated to cost the city $100,000.
The city has been running a deficit for three years, which is unsustainable. It seems prudent to straighten out our finances to accurately assess where we are before encumbering more obligations. It’s time, after four years of indiscriminate spending, to exercise some discipline.
Saratoga Springs Politics 