Derby Town Clerk Clashes With Mayor's Chief Of Staff Over Procedure

(Left to right) Garofalo & Mayhew

DERBY — Tension over bureaucratic procedure within Derby city government came to a boil during the Board of Aldermen and Alderwomen’s last meeting.

First, some background on city government:

The Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen is the city’s legislative body. It has nine members, three each for Derby’s three wards. There are six Democrats, two Republicans and one unaffiliated member (who was elected on the Republican line). The mayor is Republican.

The board meets on the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. An agenda for the meeting is posted for each meeting at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting, as required by state law.

However, there have been changes this year in the way the agenda is put together. The mayor, or the mayor’s office, now puts the agenda together and has final say on the discussion topics. The Aldermen/Alderwomen have the power to add discussion topics only after the meeting starts.

The changes happened after Walt Mayhew, Mayor Rich Dziekan’s chief of staff, was hired in January.

The Dziekan administration said the changes weren’t radical — they were simply an attempt to follow the procedures spelled out in the Derby City Charter, and to allow for a more efficient meeting. The policy was backed by Vincent Marino, the city’s corporation counsel, who said the new procedure is actually the procedure outlined in the Derby City Charter. The corporation counsel explained the reasoning behind the new” policies at a meeting in February.

Nevertheless, the changes have been a source of controversy at at least two Derby legislative meetings this year.

The Dziekan administration had previously complained the Democrats were slow-walking topics by keeping items in subcommittees, or were blocking the administration from putting topics on the agenda.

The Democrats disagreed with the assertion. The new approach ruffled feathers with several members of the Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen, and it has resulted in the monthly meetings becoming more contentious than previous meetings since Dziekan was elected mayor.

Of note: the newly enacted procedure has caused some long-standing Derby government discussion topics to disappear from the public’s view.

City departments — police, fire, building inspector, public works, recreation and all the others — previously submitted written reports detailing monthly activities. Those reports are no longer discussed at the meetings, nor shared with the public in advance of the meetings on the city’s website.

Also gone: complaints from the public submitted through the city’s website, which used to be shared prior to the meetings in an agenda packet and then discussed in public.

The June 9 Squabble

Members of the Derby Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen usually get hard copies of the meeting agenda and accompanying documents. Derby City/Town Clerk Marc Garofalo personally delivers the materials.

At the Thursday, June 9 meeting, Alderwoman Barbara DeGennaro noted hard copies were not delivered in advance of the meeting. She complained about having to print the materials herself (it isn’t unusual for an agenda packet to be 50 plus pages), and asked if the days of hardcopies were over.

The agenda will be prepared by the mayor’s office, just as it was this time. All the information for posting, recording and … whatever else, it goes to the town clerk. That’s his function. He is in charge of the posting and recording,” Mayhew said.

Mayhew’s response caused Alderwoman Sarah Widomski, the board’s president, to ask whether the meeting agenda and supplemental material were being prepared and provided a week in advance of the meeting, a practice Mayhew said he would do, according to Widomski.

Mayhew said he did so for the meeting, which brought in comments from Garofalo, the town/city clerk.

That has not happened. That has not happened. The information was sent to this office yesterday in a format that was incomplete,” Garofalo said.

The city/town clerk then directed his comments at Mayor Dziekan.

It’s a problem. You know it’s a problem, Mayor. I’ll hope you deal with it. This office is left off emails, is purposely trying to keep the information to then create a crisis at the last minute … it’s completely unprofessional, it lacks transparency, and it’s more of the negative nature of what’s been going on here for the last six months,” Garofalo said.

Ok, alright. So, next.” said Dziekan, attempting to move the meeting along.

You might be blind to it, but the morale at City Hall is lower than it’s ever been,” Garofalo said.

Number one, Marc, I’m not recognizing you right now,” Dziekan replied.

You cannot recognize whoever you want, but I’m not going to be gaslighted by the lack of transparency and the complete lack of professional behavior that’s going on here,” Garofalo replied.

Alderwoman DeGennaro entered the conversation again, asking whether she was expected to print the voluminous agenda packets on her own dime.

We will get it out to you,” Dziekan said.

Then Alderman Gino DiGiovanni entered the fray.

There’s other boards and other committees that don’t get documents hand delivered,” Alderman DiGiovanni said. For other boards, we have to print it all out.”

I’m not going to do it, Gino, it’s voluminous, I’m not going to do it.” Alderwoman DeGennaro said.

Mayor Dziekan attempted to stifle the growing argument.

Listen, everybody, time out. You’ve already put me on a time schedule here,” Dziekan said, referring to a vote last month placing a 2.5 hour maximum time limit on Aldermen/Alderwomen meetings. I’m not going to play your games where you can run this whole meeting out.“

The discussion had started within the first eight minutes of the June 9 meeting.

Chief of Staff vs Town/City Clerk


While Derby has more pressing concerns than who puts a meeting agenda together and delivers it, the discussion at the June 9 meeting underscored a deep rift between Garofalo and Mayhew.

The Valley Indy emailed Mayhew June 16, asking him to respond to Garofalo’s public assertion that Mayhew hides information from the town clerk’s office.

Mayhew said Garofalo’s complaints were rooted in partisanship.

The Town Clerk has repeatedly engaged in partisan political behavior since the loss of the election of his candidate. This is contrary to the nature and responsibilities of his office which requires him to serve officials of both parties without bias or prejudice. He has engaged in behavior contrary to his office when it comes to the creation of agendas,” Mayhew said in an email.

Garofalo, a former Derby mayor, ran on the Democratic line for town clerk during his most recent re-election bid. Joe DiMartino, a former Alderman, lost to Dziekan by a small margin. Garofalo was re-elected as town/city clerk by more than 700 votes.

Mayhew ran on the Democratic line with Garofalo when Mayhew was elected treasurer in 2019. He resigned in 2021 because he moved out of Derby, but was hired as Dziekan’s chief of staff in January. Dziekan is a Republican.

Garofalo, in an email to The Valley Indy, said Mayhew’s comments were without merit.

He keeps referring to the last election, but it is over and those who received more votes won fair and square. Let’s remember that no one won the (mayor’s office) by a landslide or with any kind of mandate. So, it is better to stop complaining that you won and let’s get to work for the city,” Garofalo said.

Garofalo said Mayhew is simply trying to micromanage every aspect of Derby government, despite the fact he’s not an elected official.

Mayhew has played a growing role in city government. He acted, essentially, as finance director during this year’s budget formation process after the Dziekan administration put the actual finance director on paid administrative leave.

In his email to The Valley Indy, Mayhew said Garofalo’s job is to post and notice agendas — not to create or alter agendas. Mayhew said Garofalo has rearranged agenda items for the Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen, and for the tax board. Mayhew described some of the changes as self-serving.

He has listed items on the BoAA agenda not only out of the order provided but contrary to Robert’s Rule which is the governing authority,” Mayhew said.

His agenda is as political as his criticisms. He simply needs to fulfill the role, responsibilities and duties of his office and leave the politics to others,” the mayor’s chief of staff wrote.

Garofalo said his track record as city/town clerk proves Mayhew wrong. The squabbling over procedure only began once Mayhew was hired, and the chief of staff is projecting his micromanagement issues onto others, Garofalo said.

I work hard to serve every citizen in Derby and have worked extremely well with both parties in the discharge of my duties as Town/City Clerk. His claim is not based in fact, and I challenge him to provide proof of his false accusation,” Garofalo said, referring to Mayhew’s partisan comment. I will fight for transparency in our government in the exercise of my duties even though Walter has consistently withheld public information from this office so that the public is kept in the dark,” Garofalo said.

Regarding whether he changes agendas, Garofalo said there is a consistent procedure to organize information in a way that benefits elected officials and the public that predates his time as city/town clerk.

Walter is the first person in his position from either party who has a problem with the process. Section 16 of the City Charter clearly states that the Town Clerk is the Clerk of the Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen and the Board of Apportionment and Taxation,” Garofalo said.

Garofalo noted the mayor’s office recently submitted an agenda for a special meeting to review an investigative report — but had to cancel the meeting because the agenda failed to state where the meeting would take place.

Garofalo also said Mayhew does not provide information to his office in a timely manner, which is the same as not providing it to the public, because part of the city/town clerk’s job is to ensure public access to local government.

It does not serve the public or the volunteer board members to send the agenda and meeting materials at the last minute so that there is not time to properly review them,” Garofalo said. The reason for a separation of duties is to prevent abuse, and to maintain consistency and transparency.“

Mayor Dziekan said Mayhew is doing an excellent job, and that city government needs to follow the Derby Charter.

Since December, certain members of the opposition have repeatedly attempted to control the agendas, even after the ruling by the Corporation Counsel that the agenda creation was the mayor’s responsibility,” Dziekan said. Walt has done an excellent job of providing information as we received it. Moving forward he will be creating the agenda and delivering it to the town clerk for posting, per my instructions. All agenda items are to be forwarded to the mayor’s office for the board of alderman meetings.”

Wikimedia Commons

Wikimedia photo of Derby City Hall.

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