Derby Mayor, Citing Political Interference, Dissolves Subcommittees

Wikimedia Commons

Derby City Hall, in a photo from Wikipedia.

DERBY — Citing delays and disruptions, Mayor Rich Dziekan on Monday discontinued all subcommittees of the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen.

The move is an escalation of a seven-month bureaucratic cold war happening between the Dziekan administration and Derby Democrats, who hold a 6 – 2 advantage over Republicans on the Derby Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen. Alderman Rob Hyder is unaffiliated, but ran on Dziekan’s line with the Republicans.

The Dziekan administration alleges the subcommittee process in Derby has been used to hobble city business by keeping items stuck in subcommittee.

There have been far too many delays and disruptions in moving forward with items that should have been relatively simple to execute and/or essential to moving the city forward,” Dziekan wrote in the letter announcing the dismantling of Aldermanic subcommittees. In some cases, this has been due to a lack of attendance at some subcommittee meetings. In other instances, matters that would have passed the full board were held up in subcommittee never reaching the full board.“

Since The Valley Indy launched in 2009, and presumably before that, matters brought before the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen would pay a visit to a subcommittee before coming before the full Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen. The subcommittee would examine the issue and then make a recommendation on the issue to the full board.

But Dziekan said the system is being abused in an effort to stop progress. He said routine matters, such as the creation of job descriptions, were stuck in subcommittees for no good reason.

Dziekan said the city had been considering signing a contract with the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments to make sure Derby spends its share of federal COVID-19 money according to the rules outlined by the federal government. Dziekan alleges the matter was held up in a subcommittee, which played a part in NVCOG’s decision to withdraw its offer to help.

He called this the last straw.

Because we were not under contract with NVCOG for such services and a resulting need for staffing reorganizations due to resignations, they have withdrawn their offer to provide this service,” Dziekan said.

Rick Dunne, the executive director at NVCOG, said his organization had made the offer to Derby last year and was waiting for Derby to respond. However, the employee who would have worked with the city no longer works for NVCOG.

Going forward, the mayor said he will reserve the right to create subcommittees when needed.

Last term the board discontinued subcommittees and instead met twice a month. At this point, I am maintaining a single regular meeting schedule. If I feel there is a need for work by a smaller group to move an initiative forward, I will appoint a committee for such a purpose,” Dziekan wrote.

REACTION


Democrats interviewed by The Valley Indy said the mayor has checked out and left his chief of staff, Walt Mayhew, to run the city. They said Derby’s political discussion turned combative immediately after Mayhew was brought on board in January, resulting in constant bickering at public meetings.

They said the Dziekan barely won two re-election campaigns, but is now instituting policies as if he has political will to spare.

Walt Mayhew has turned the mayor into a bully,” Aniello Malerba III said. Malerba is the head of the Derby Democrats. Unfortunately this administration clearly doesn’t believe in checks and balances. While the residents continue to suffer, this administration continues to pass blame on everyone else instead of taking responsibility for their failures.“

Mayhew told The Valley Indy the mayor reached out to several members of the board before sending his letter and received positive responses.

Checks and balances are still fully in place,” Mayhew said. In fact, due to the mayor’s action, that is even more true now than before. Now every alderman has an equal voice and vote on every item before the board. No more playing politics in subcommittee and delaying or disrupting things the administration is looking to accomplish.“

Mayhew said three Democrats on the board are obstructionists: Alderwomen Barbara DeGennaro, Anita Dugatto and Sarah Widomski.

The Valley Indy, using the city’s Aldermanic contact form on its website, sent an email seeking comment on this story to all members of the board Tuesday morning.

Alderwoman Dugatto said the Dziekan administration keeps making moves to limit discussion and increase control, which is bad for the public. The mayor’s office controls the meeting agenda of Aldermen/Alderwomen meetings, she said.The board no longer receive reports or updates from department heads. The mayor limits public discussion at meetings by insisting comments can only be on matters on the agenda.

The residents lose in this move,” Dugatto said. Residents feel comfortable speaking to their Alderman. The Alderman will need to bring resident issues to the full board probably thru the public portion then vote it as an agenda item to be discussed.”

Dugatto predicted longer Aldermen/Alderwomen meetings since subcommittees are gone. Mayor Dziekan has previously complained that the Aldermen/Alderwomen put a time limit on meetings so that they could run out the clock’ without getting anything done.

Alderwoman Widomski is the president of the board. She said the Dziekan administration continually blindsides the board with procedural changes designed to steamroll opposition.

I was unaware that the dissolution of the committees of the BOA/A was even being considered,” she said. One of the biggest problems with this administration is that there is never any communication or discussion about decision making. The committee process provides the necessary input and review of any item presented to the full board for adoption.“

Widomski said while the administration accuses the board of slow-walking items in subcommittees, the administration hasn’t called a meeting of the city’s capital planning commission. That’s the group that decides on big-ticket expenses in the city, from buying fire trucks to replacing roofs.

Even more concerning is that after numerous requests over the last two years by multiple board and staff members, a meeting of the Capital Planning Commission has still not been scheduled by the Mayor. The city’s department heads have been waiting years to submit their capital spending requests and to continue to stall that committee from meeting is unacceptable.”

Keep local reporting alive. Donate.ValleyIndy.org