DERBY — The tax board moved some money around to cover costs and the Aldermen/Alderwomen seem to be gearing up for a closed-door meeting in the wake of the sudden departure of Derby building official Carlo Sarmiento.
According to Mayor Rich Dziekan’s administration, Sarmiento resigned abruptly March 5, at the end of a vacation. He had been building official since 2013.
Thursday was the first Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen meeting since Sarmiento’s departure.
Alderwoman Barbara DeGennaro said she had questions regarding the building inspector and the resignation, but that her questions were probably not appropriate to be discussed in public.
She suggested her questions could be asked in an executive session, a type of meeting closed to the public.
According to state open government laws, local governments can meet in executive session to discuss individual officers or employees — unless the employee asks for the discussion to be held in public.
The Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen are apparently going to have a meeting next week to talk about what to pay the mayor’s position (voters in November approved a measure to make the position full time, and the city is considering paying somewhere between $70,000 and $90,000 for the job, which currently starts at $50,000).
DeGennaro suggested the Sarmiento matter be included as an executive session for that upcoming meeting, which has yet to be formally scheduled.
“It may need to go in executive session, but I have some questions and I don’t think they should be overlooked, and they shouldn’t be delayed,” DeGennaro said.
The mayor said he had talked to corporation counsel about the matter in some way, but didn’t elaborate.
“That’s fine, mayor, but I have some questions that I don’t think are appropriate for public,” DeGennaro said.
Later in the meeting, DeGennaro asked the city’s lawyers for a status update on a Burtville Avenue property that was being used as a pro-law enforcement/fire/ems motorcycle club.
The city’s planning and zoning commission questioned whether the club’s use of the facility violated zoning rules. However, Sarmiento at the time was both a member of the club, and the city’s zoning enforcement officer.
Earlier in the meeting, Mayor Dziekan said any building official duties at the moment are being covered by inspectors from neighboring Ansonia.
At a tax board meeting earlier this week, the tax board created a new account in the city budget to cover any building inspections. They transferred $5,000 into the account from “building official wages.”
On Monday, The Valley Indy submitted a Freedom of Information request seeking access to Sarmiento’s last correspondence with the city. Personnel records are public documents, with limited exception. The city has yet to release the information.
