DERBY — In an interview with The Valley Indy Monday, Sal Coppola and Carmen DiCenso took exception to recent comments and campaign literature from Brian Coppolo, the Democrat running for mayor.
The entirety of the interview was recorded. Click the play button to listen.
Coppola is the city’s finance director. DiCenso is the city’s economic development liaison.
The following is a summary of the issues that got them on the podcast — but the news is in the podcast episode itself, so please press play for full context.
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In a recent four-page campaign newsletter published by his campaign, Coppolo was quoted as saying it was time to “clean house” in the city’s finance department.
Coppola, the finance director, said it’s fine if the candidate wants to fire him, but called the comment insulting to the other two finance department employees who work in the office and earn less than $50,000 annually.
In an emailed response, Coppolo, the candidate, said he would replace Coppola as finance director if he is elected and hire someone with a background in municipal finances.
Click the play button to hear Coppolo’s complete statement.
Coppola, responding to a comment Coppolo made in a previous Valley Indy podcast, said the city has job qualifications for the finance director’s position — and that he met those requirements when hired.
Coppolo’s criticism of the finance department comes in the wake of a Derby budget blunder that was revealed to the public in the spring. An audit revealed the city had mistakenly double counted state grant money in three budget cycles, starting with the last budget under the previous administration.
DiCenso pointed out the previous administration, under Mayor Anita Dugatto, hired a part-time economic development person who was paid a full-time salary. DiCenso said he works part-time for $19,000, has sold $1 million worth of properties city government was holding, and is working to bring credible developers into the city.
Click play for more.
Coppolo’s podcast interview is embedded below:
Mayor Rich Dziekan’s podcast interview is posted below:
“Navel Gazing: The Valley Indy Podcast” is a weekly talk show on this website.
Music courtesy of The Bad Slugs.
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