The Derby Board of Aldermen voted Thursday to pay Henry Domurad money owed to him from three years ago.
A precise dollar amount was not discussed during the Board of Aldermen meeting Thursday. The Derby mayor’s office could not provide the dollar amount Friday.
This story will be updated when the dollar amount is relayed.
A previous Valley Indy story reported the number to be in the neighborhood of $8,000.
)NOTE: On June 30, the Derby Mayor’s Office said the dollar amount is $9,261.82.)
The money covers three personal days, eight vacation days and about 18 sick days owed to Domurad after he stopped working for the city in April 2012.
At the time, Domurad was the city’s finance director.
The Saga
The circumstances of his departure were mired in controversy.
Back in 2012, former Mayor Anthony Staffieri said Domurad quit. The mayor circulated a letter of resignation with Domurad’s signature.
Domurad, though, said he was fired. He claimed the signature on the letter wasn’t his.
Staffieri brought in a hand-writing expert. Domurad sued to be reinstated.
Derby Aldermen twice rejected a settlement offer in the lawsuit that would have paid Domurad $53,000.
Eventually a judge at Superior Court in Milford ruled the signature on the resignation letter was, in fact, Domurad’s.
The ruling stopped Domurad’s lawsuit in its tracks because the judge said Domurad’s denials placed a “cloud” over anything else he said.
The issue of Domurad’s back pay surfaced in June 2013 when the Democratic majority on the Derby Board of Aldermen asked then-corporation counsel Joseph Coppola to research whether the city owed Domurad money.
However, Staffieri killed the motion with a veto a few days after it was made.
“I do not wish to waste any more time on this matter in disregard to the Court decision against Mr. Domurad’s claims,” Staffieri’s veto read.
Staffieri then lost the mayor’s seat to Anita Dugatto in late 2013 and Dugatto hired Domurad as her chief administrative assistant.
Fast Forward
Domuard recently — an exact date is not noted — asked that a determination be made regarding his back pay, according to a May 28 memo from labor lawyer Francis Teodosio to Mayor Dugatto.
The Teodosio memo states the Staffieri administration “opted not to renew his contract.”
Teodosio’s research determined that Domurad was entitled to back pay.
Teodosio based his decision on Domurad’s previous employment contract and the city’s policy regarding sick day payouts to nonunion employees who leave the city’s employment.
At the June 25 Aldermen meeting, Alderman Barbara DeGennaro went through some of the background on the issue, then offered a motion to pay Domurad.
DeGennaro’s motion was seconded by Felicia Monaco and approved unanimously without further discussion.
Before a check is actually cut, the Derby tax board will likely have to create a spot in the budget out of which to pay Domurad, according to city lawyers Friday.
Audio from Thursday’s vote is posted below:
