Derby Building Official Carlo Sarmiento, in a still photo taken from a Zoom meeting Sept. 24.
DERBY — After more than an hour of detailed questioning, members of an Aldermanic subcommittee decided Sept. 24 they needed more time before recommending a new salary for the “building official” position in Derby City Hall. (Updated story here.)
They’ll be back at it Thursday (Oct. 8) at 6 p.m., according to an agenda posted on the Derby city website Wednesday.
City government has been tasked with trying to create a new salary after officials allowed Carlo Sarmiento, the current building official, to give up his titles as Derby Zoning Officer and Wetlands Enforcement Officer.
Sarmiento wrote a letter July 24 resigning from those responsibilities. The letter is embedded below, and the story continues after the letter.
Carlo Sarmiento Resignation… by The Valley Indy
The Background Is Complicated
Sarmiento’s resignation letter was dated three days after the Derby Planning and Zoning Commission had scheduled a July 21 meeting to talk about “ZEO employment” in an executive session.
That July 21 P&Z agenda also included a discussion of alleged zoning violations at 49 Burtville Ave., an address used by Sarmiento’s motorcycle club while he was ZEO.
Click here and here for more on that issue.
An image from the Sept. 24 meeting, held on Zoom.
The July 21 P & Z meeting was canceled, but, in mid-August, members of the Derby P&Z subsequently asked their attorney and land use consultant to investigate the zoning allegations involving 49 Burtville Ave. That work is ongoing and could be addressed at a Derby P&Z meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 20.
Mayor Recommends Salary Changes
Although Sarmiento has resigned from two of the responsibilities required for the position in the Derby Charter, he is still getting paid a full salary of $85,400 (according to City Hall, but the number used Sept. 24 was $85,364).
The duties of the Derby Building Official includes zoning enforcement, according to the city charter.
Mayor Rich Dziekan recommended the building official’s pay be reduced to $71,209 and that the hours be reduced to 30 hours a week. In an Aug. 28 letter to the Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen, the mayor pointed out the statewide average for the position is $83,077.40.
The mayor’s letter indicated zoning enforcement & wetland enforcement is a single title, and he recommended it become a part-time position paying $23,632 per year (at about 20 hours a week).
Sept. 24, 2020
The city’s operations and procedures Aldermanic subcommittee discussed the mayor’s salary recommendations at a meeting Sept. 24. Its members are to make a recommendation to the full Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen.
The subcommittee ultimately decided to table the matter.
The subcommitee’s chairwoman is First Ward Alderwoman Barbara L. DeGennaro. The other members of the subcommittee present at the Sept. 24 subcommittee meeting included Third Ward Alderman Charles Sampson, and First Ward Alderwoman Sarah Widomski.
Mayor Dziekan joined the meeting. His chief of staff, Andrew Baklik, was in attendance, as was Finance Director Keith McLiverty.
Resident Tom Lionetti spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Lionetti said that if the city went along with the mayor’s suggestion regarding the salaries for the separate positions of building official and ZEO/WEO, Derby taxpayers would end up paying more money than they currently spend.
Lionetti pointed out the building official currently pays (roughly) $85,000. The two new recommended salaries ($71,209 and $23,632) adds up to $94,841 — or $9,441 more than what Derby is currently paying.
Lionetti recommended the building official proposed salary be reduced further to make up the difference.
Baklik, the mayor’s chief of staff, indicated the additional $9,000 in spending adds a “planning component” to the ZEO/WEO role. Currently the city refers that work to an outside engineering consultant. Baklik said there is “an opportunity” for a regional position “hosted through the Naugatuck Valley COG that added a planning component.”
Responding to a question, Derby Finance Director Keith McLiverty said the city spent $3,100 in July and August to its consultant for “meeting prep.”
Responding to a question during the meeting from Alderman Sampson, Courtney George, a labor lawyer working for Derby government, said “ordinarily” the building official’s role would be a separate role from the zoning enforcement officer. But the Derby Charter has the roles consolidated.
Reducing the building official’s hours to 30 hours (from 35) would not make it a part-time job, George indicated.
Various officials in the mayor’s office over two years have suggested that Derby employees wear too many hats, and that untangling responsibilities and taking a more business-like approach to governing could help the city. Part of the business-like approach includes attracting qualified candidates for important city roles, such as finance director. To do that, Derby needs to offer a competitive salary, the mayor has said.
DeGennaro questioned the administration’s proposed salary adjustments.
She pointed out that the mayor’s recommended salary for the building inspector of $71,209 at 30 hours a week comes out to $45.65 an hour.
She compared that to the current pay.
“If you took the current salary of $85,364, and he was working 35 hours a week, he was making $46.90 an hour,” DeGennaro said. “I don’t know how we can justify paying just about the same hourly rate — about a buck difference — for less hours and less duties.”
In addition, DeGennaro questioned how Derby would come up with the additional funds needed since the money is not in the Derby budget.
Sarmiento spoke several times during the meeting.
He said that the city has given him “additional responsibilities” over seven years. He included his certification as the city’s “ADA coordinator“ as an additional responsibility.
Sarmiento also said he has “taken on the responsibility of blight,” along with a new “compliance officer” responsibility connected to COVID-19.
“It’s a lot more things that I do that quite don’t show on the ordinance. I just want to make everyone aware of that,” Sarmiento said.
DeGennaro said his point was taken. However, she questioned whether his blight duties predate him.
“I believe the blight ordinance indicates the building official is part of the duty. The blight ordinance has been around prior to your appointment,” she said.
DeGennaro said she was not aware of the other responsibilities Sarmiento mentioned because she didn’t believe they had been reviewed or discussed with the Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen.
Sarmiento also pointed out that since he submitted his letter of resignation, “none of the zoning matters have been neglected. I still am in contact with Mr. McEvoy (the city’s consulting engineer) and Mr. Estwan (the chairman of the Derby P & Z, a volunteer position), no different than we were doing it the last five years,” he said.
Sarmiento said the dynamic of his department has not changed since he resigned his duties as ZEO/WEO.
“I am still the go in between and I’m still sorting out all the calls when they come in,” Sarmiento said. “Nothing has been neglected and I’ve been performing my duties, and I will not let the city down and let anything fall through the cracks.”
DeGennaro also noted the building official’s position comes with a “vehicle allowance” and “unlimited gas per month.”
Later in the meeting, Sarmiento asked that the meeting be stopped so he could bring his attorney into the discussion. George, the labor lawyer, pointed out the discussion was about the building official position in general, not Sarmiento’s individual performance.
State open meeting laws do not allow public officials to go behind closed doors for a general discussion of how they plan to spend the public’s money. They may do so to talk about an individual employee.
FILE PHOTO
Derby Mayor Rich Dziekan
The Mayor Weighs In
Mayor Dziekan noted the salaries he recommended were not pulled out of thin air. They asked for salary surveys from the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities to get an idea of the going rate.
“We’re trying to figure out the best possible way to have a building official in this town and subtract the duties from zoning and wetland,” he said. “We’ve been in contact with the COG and I’ve been talking to surrounding towns to see what they want to do. So, basically, we put information out in front of you to figure out what you guys are comfortable with. Do you want to continue to do lower salaries we are not going to keep qualified people in this town.”
Dziekan said Sarmiento will probably walk out the door if his salary is “low-balled.”
“We need to stop low-balling all this and get qualified people in here,” the mayor said.
Dziekan has also recommended the pay for finance director be increased from $70,500 to $95,000. Dziekan pointed out that Seymour First Selectman Kurt Miller is being hired as Ansonia’s chief fiscal officer for $138,000.
However, that recommendation was not on the agenda of the Aldermanic subcommittee Sept. 24.
After Dziekan spoke, Sarmiento weighed in, saying he’s increased revenue for his department by several hundred thousand dollars.
“I’m thinking the building department has been run very (efficiently),” Sarmiento said. He also pointed out that the city took an assistant out of his department several years ago due to budget cuts.
“My budget has decreased immensely from when I got hired and the profit has quadrupled,” he said.
“You’ve said that before at several meetings,” DeGennaro said. “There are individuals and companies that are building in the town, so obviously, based on their building values, that brings in money to the town. If we are going to get into specifics on job performance, then we’d have to have an executive session because that’s not what we’re here for.”
Despite speaking several times, Sarmiento did not explain specifically why he resigned as ZEO/WEO.
After a discussion that lasted roughly 90 minutes, the subcommittee eventually tabled the matter until Thursday.
Thursday evening’s meeting will be held using Zoom video conferencing software. Click here for the info needed to watch.
