Citing the need for additional legal advice, Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti Monday held off on an announcement regarding Economic Development Director Peter Kelly’s absence from City Hall.
Cassetti said about 4:30 p.m. Monday that Kelly remained on paid leave and that the city was still getting legal advice on the matter.
Cassetti put Kelly on leave March 3 for unspecified “issues related to his employment” and said last week he’d announce further developments by Monday, March 10.
But at 4:33 p.m. Cassetti’s office emailed several reporters saying “We apologize but we are going to hold off on our EDC announcement today. We will keep you posted.”
“I’m waiting for a legal opinion from an attorney to make sure this is done right,” the mayor told the Valley Indy outside his office, declining to comment further.
Reached by phone Monday afternoon, Kelly declined to comment on the matter.
Kelly’s lawyer, John Androski, said last week he would demand a public hearing in the event Cassetti wanted Kelly out of City Hall permanently.
Androski could not be reached for comment Monday. His office was closed due to the death last week of his brother, Edward, another lawyer with the firm.
Kelly’s suspension came about a week after the chairman of the Economic Development Commission, Vinnie Scarlata, told Cassetti and other city officials he was quitting the commission — though as of Monday he had not formally submitted a letter of resignation to the Town Clerk’s office.
Scarlata, a Republican who applied for Kelly’s job last year under former Democratic Mayor James Della Volpe’s administration, told the Valley Indy last week he had grown frustrated with a lack of progress on economic development, and that he could no longer devote so much time without the city paying him.
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The mayor last week did not say why he put Kelly on leave, but sources say Cassetti thought Kelly needed to be more aggressive in trying to lure businesses to Ansonia.
Kelly’s employment contract, posted below, calls for a two-year employment term to be renewed automatically for another year on Feb. 15, 2014.
Kelly’s first day in the job was Sept. 3, 2013. His salary is $57,980.
The contract says Kelly can be dismissed for a variety of reasons, including “just cause,” giving as examples failure to perform duties pursuant to his job description, misconduct, and insubordination, to name a few.
The document also says that any “disputes, claims and controversies” in connection with Kelly’s employment would be “settled and finally determined” by a third-party arbitrator under the rules of the American Arbitration Association.
The Valley Indy left a message Monday afternoon with John Marini, the city’s corporation counsel.
