Editor’s note: Derby voters head to the polls Nov. 8 to answer two charter revision questions. Click here for the Charter Revision Commission report. Click here for the explanatory text for question 1. Question 2 asks whether the “dual office holding” section of the charter should be deleted.
Derby’s Charter: Understanding Section 14 Dual-Office Holding
I would like to clarify some misnomers I believe are occurring as a result of social media and newspaper articles surrounding Section 14 of the City of Derby’s Charter which will be on the November 8th ballot relating to the City’s charter revision questions. I do not believe the explanatory text provided regarding the question is sufficient to explain the text of Section 14 and its requested revision.
Section 14 of the City of Derby Charter currently reads:
Section 14. Dual office-holding, etc. No officer of said city shall be at the same time a member of the Board of Aldermen. Neither the Mayor, Street Commissioner, Police Commissioners, Fire Commissioner nor any other officer of said city, either elected or appointed, including members of the Board of Aldermen, members of the Board of Apportionment, members of the Finance Committee and members of the Board of Education, shall directly or indirectly furnish any materials to said city, or be directly or indirectly employed to do any work for said city except his official duty. The provisions of this section may be waived by a unanimous vote of the Board of Aldermen.
Proposed Revision to Section 14:
Section 14. Dual office-holding, etc. No officer of said city shall be at the same time a member of the Board of Aldermen. Neither the Mayor, Director of Public Works, Police Commissioners, Fire Commissioner nor any other officer of said city, either elected or appointed, including members of the Board of Aldermen, members of the Board of Apportionment and Taxation, members of the Finance Committee and members of the Board of Education, shall directly or indirectly furnish any materials to said city, or be directly or indirectly employed to do any work for said city except his/her official duty. The provisions of this section may be waived by a unanimous vote of the Board of Aldermen.
The language in both the current charter Section 14 and the proposed revision to Section 14 are identical except three changes as indicated by bold italics.
Section 14 deals with two different premises. Initially, the first sentence states that an officer of the City cannot be a Board of Aldermen member at the same time. For example, the Mayor or Director of Public Works or Tax Collector cannot serve on said board.
Subsequently, the next two sentences have been at the forefront of social media, newspaper articles, letters to the editor and public opinion. The first part of the second sentence and Section 14 NOT only applies to elected Board of Aldermen members (as some believe from the social media, newspaper articles and other public opinion), but all the other City of Derby elected or appointed positions listed in said Section, including but not limited to those NOT listed, such as the Planning & Zoning Commission, Cultural Commission, Inland-Wetlands, the Building Official, Facilities/Blight Officers, Parks & Recreation Commission, Commission on Elderly, Shared Services Committee, O’Sullivan Island Advisory Committee, City Treasurer, Finance Director, Fire Marshals, Fire Chiefs, Registrars of Voters, etc.
The second part of the second sentence does not only mean doing business with or being employed by the City of Derby such as being employed as a police officer or sewage treatment plant worker or fire marshal or fire commissioner or facility/blight officer but means being elected or appointed to the many positions listed above and being paid directly or indirectly; for example, as a coach for DHS or DMS, as an umpire or referee for a City of Derby recreation game, as an EMT/Paramedic for service provided to the City, providing construction, remodeling and catering services to the City, selling office supplies to the City, serving as a fire chief for the City.
Thus, there must be a link of the office or appointment holding to the direct or indirect furnishing of materials or employment to and for the City.
The last sentence of Section 14 and final component is a unanimous vote, or a nine (9) to zero (0) member vote, by the entire Board of Aldermen to allow the dual office position holding by an individual committed to serving the City of Derby.
Consequently, over the years, some dual office-holding waivers were missed and overlooked. Finally, there are other remedies available to address concerns such as the City of Derby Code of Ethics and Ethics Commission, and Robert Rules of Order.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara L. DeGennaro
City of Derby Board of Aldermen, 1st Ward
Former Dual Office-Holding City of Derby Fire Commissioner and DHS Derbyette Coach both denied and granted a waiver by the BOA per Section 14.
