(Left to right) Former Derby Mayor Rich Dziekan and current Derby Mayor Joseph DiMartino
DERBY – The city’s corporation counsel said he plans to talk to former Mayor Rich Dziekan about his use of an expense account that has been questioned by current Mayor Joseph DiMartino.
“I intend to reach out to him to have a conversation and we’ll see how that goes,” Richard Buturla, Derby’s lawyer, told elected officials during a Feb. 8 meeting of the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen.
Mayor DiMartino was elected in November 2023 and took office in December 2023, succeeding Mayor Dziekan, who served three terms.
At a public meeting in January, DiMartino said that Dziekan emptied a $5,000 mayoral expense account to pay for repairs to his pickup truck.
DiMartino questioned whether the money could be used for vehicle repairs. He also said the $5,000 was supposed to last the full fiscal year, from July 1, 2023 until June 30, 2024.
DiMartino said Dziekan should have only been entitled to access the money up until he left office in December. However, he used it all in one shot, leaving the current mayor without money in that expense account.
Dziekan told The Valley Indy in January that the payment and its use was vetted by the finance office. He said he used his truck for government business and was advised by the former corporation counsel that the use was OK.
Dziekan said he would pay back some of the money if the city determined he was wrong.
The issue was raised Feb. 5 by Alderman Rob Hyder, who asked the mayor for a status update on the expense account.
Buturla said he planned to talk to the mayor, but repeated what he advised elected officials in January: the rules on the expense account are not clear.
“As I said, the origins of the expense account are a little loose,” Buturla said.
The attorney advised the board to work with him to define the expense account and what the money can be used for.
“I think it’s something we should nail down during our tenure to make it a little more formal,” Buturla said.
Alderman Hyder suggested the issue be sent to one of the Aldermanic subcommittees, which Mayor DiMartino called a “great idea.”
It wasn’t clear which subcommittee will be tackling the issue.
