The Derby Democratic Town Committee delivered a letter to Mayor Anthony Staffieri’s office Wednesday morning saying the public should be allowed to see the proposed settlement between the city and former finance director Henry Domurad, Jr. before the Board of Aldermen take action on the issue.
Domurad, Derby’s finance director from 2008 until April, sued Staffieri earlier this month, claiming he was wrongfully terminated.
Domurad and Staffieri have very different stories as to how Domurad left.
Staffieri said Domurad wasn’t terminated in April, but had resigned. The mayor’s office, upon request from the Valley Independent Sentinel, e‑mailed Domurad’s letter of resignation to the Valley Indy in April.
In his lawsuit, Domurad claimed he had never seen or signed the resignation letter distributed by the mayor’s office.
A hearing in Domurad’s civil lawsuit against Staffieri was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Monday.
However, the hearing never took place. Instead, Domurad’s attorney and city attorneys hammered out a financial settlement outside of court.
Domurad will be receiving money, but the precise dollar amount has yet to be revealed.
The Derby Board of Aldermen are scheduled to discuss the proposed settlement during an executive session Thursday.
Executive sessions are closed to the public. They are allowed under certain circumstances, such as the discussion of legal strategy or active lawsuits.
Linda Fusco, chairwoman of the city’s Democratic Town Committee, said the details of the settlement should be made public before the meeting, especially if the settlement involves tax dollars.
“It is your responsibility, as an elected official, to fully inform our fellow citizens on issues, before they can speak knowledgeably in the public portion of the Board of Aldermen meeting,” Fusco wrote in a letter to the mayor. “It will also provide the Board members with the opportunity to hear and understand the concerns and feelings of their constituents.”
The letter is posted below. Article continues after the document.
Derby Dems Want To See Settlement
Staffieri said Aldermen still need to have the settlement explained to them by their attorneys. Furthermore, he said it would be ludicrous for the city to go against the advice of lawyers who told him not to comment publicly on the settlement.
Revealing the details of the settlement prior to the Board of Aldermen’s meeting would go against the standard procedure of any local government in the state, the mayor said.
Staffieri noted he was in court with reporters when the city attorney announced a settlement had been hammered out.
“You were there in court, you know what was going on,” Staffieri said. “You heard the lawyers say nothing was to be said until it was presented to the Board of Aldermen. At that point, we’ll find out ourselves, in writing, what the settlement is.”
Staffieri criticized Democrats on the Board of Aldermen for speaking about the issue last month, after the city attorney advised them not to do so.
“That hurt the city,” the mayor said.
Ken Hughes, a Republican member of the Board of Aldermen, said the Aldermen are following the same procedure they’ve followed with previous lawsuit settlements.
“How it this different from any other lawsuit?” Hughes asked. “They (Democrats) just keep stirring the pot.”
Normally, legislative bodies such as the Derby Board of Aldermen do not reveal the details of a proposed settlement until it is finalized.
In fact, in past lawsuit settlements in Derby, little to no information has been revealed even after the Aldermen vote.
Here is how the minutes describe the 2009 settlement of a lawsuit between Derby and the Love Shack, a porn shop that used to be on New Haven Avenue:
“A MOTION by Mr. Hughes to authorize the city attorney and Tom Girard to take all necessary steps to conclude the settlement agreement, second by Mr. Bomba, all in favor. Motion carried.”
That vote was taken after an executive session meeting with attorneys and the Board of Aldermen.
At other times, the Aldermen have talked at length after discussing litigation in executive session.
Here is a video of the Aldermen voting to settle a lawsuit with a developer in October 2009 for $1.75 million.
Which way will Thursday’s meeting go?
A dollar amount will have to be made public, as it will require a vote of the Derby tax board as well.
Outside of the amount of money Derby — and the city’s insurance carrier — will be paying out, the question of who is telling the truth about Domurad’s departure still lingers.
Ron Sill, president of the Board of Aldermen, said Aldermen will learn the details of the settlement in the executive session — and then share those details with the public.
“After the Board of Aldermen take their vote, everything, I hope, should be disclosed. Otherwise it wouldn’t be right,” Sill said. “I’m positive the facts will come out.”
The settlement will not be filed in Milford court for the public to see. It is expected that if Derby officials sign off on it, Domurad will withdraw his lawsuit against Staffieri, taking it out of the public’s view.
Another court hearing in the lawsuit has been scheduled for June 11 in Milford — but that hearing will only happen if the settlement falls apart between now and then.
