Roger Salway (right) on an episode of 'I Wanna Know w/Dan Armin,' talking about his work in North Branford (image from YouTube.com).
DERBY — The city has a new, full-time economic development director in place after nearly a decade of the position being vacant.
Mayor Rich Diekan’s chief of staff Walt Mayhew announced last week that the city hired Roger Salway to fill the position vacated back in 2013 by former economic development director Sheila O’Malley, who now serves in a similar position in neighboring Ansonia.
“We reviewed more than 100 resumes, and we were looking for someone with practical experience, with a solid business background that demonstrated an understanding of the business community,” Mayhew told the Valley Indy Thursday. “Roger checked all those boxes and more.”
Salway is a native of Devon, England, who now resides in Essex. He is the former economic development coordinator for the Town of North Branford, where he said the town’s fiscal health improved and its grand list saw a four percent growth per year since he began work there in 2018.
He previously served as CEO of Compatible Technologies Inc. and the COO of Paper Calmenson, both based in St. Paul, Minnesota. He previously worked for the John Deere Co., serving as their director of new business ventures and also worked as the company’s director of sales and marketing.
A search committee to find someone for the Derby job was formed back in March. Mayhew said more than 100 applications came to his office, which he, in turn, emailed to the committee to see which candidates might be a good fit. Mayhew said only one candidate — Salway — piqued the committee’s interest.
“We did a Zoom interview, polled the search committee and he (Salway) was unanimously recommended to the mayor’s office,” Mayhew said. “The mayor interviewed him and approved his hire.”
The search committee’s process was closed to the public, which is permitted under state law when governments are looking to hire.
Dziekan said he was impressed with Salway’s experience and his rapport with the staff of the state Department of Economic and Community Development.
“Roger is just what we’ve been waiting for,” Dziekan said in a prepared statement. “I am so glad that the search committee had the patience to wait for the right fit and placed a heavy emphasis on familiarity with economic development in Connecticut. His personal relationship with the staff of the CT Department of Community and Economic Development is a huge plus for Derby.”
While Derby has been without a dedicated economic development director since O’Malley left, the duties have been mostly handled by city staff, including economic development liaison Carmen DiCenso.
Mayhew said the Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen approved the updated job description back in March when the search committee was formed. He also said the board approved the annual salary for the job, which is $85,000.
The salary, however, is something that Alderwoman and former Mayor Anita Dugatto, who was a member of the search committee, has taken issue with.
Dugatto said while she has no qualms about Salway himself, she said neither the search committee nor the board had much input on his hiring, and never approved a salary. She pointed to March BOA/A meeting minutes where the updated job description was approved, with the salary range to be determined.
“The BOA never put forth or approved the salary,” Dugatto told the Valley Indy. “The mayor has the ultimate decision to hire with approval by the BOA, but the BOA in this case had no input in this hire. The BOA has a unified voice, I was a (search committee) member picked from the BOA, but I did not have a voice.”
Dugatto also said the board as a whole didn’t learn of Salway’s hiring until its last meeting in November, when he discussed plans to improve the municipal parking garage. She also said the committee never saw all the applications that came to Mayhew.
“We did not review 100 applicants, so the committee was not privy to all the applicants that responded to the ad,” Dugatto said.
Dugatto pointed out Salway actually began working for the city in October.
“I would love to sit with him at a BOA meeting to discuss his vision for Derby, but that is unlikely to happen in this administration,” Dugatto said.
Mayhew said Dugatto’s claims of the board not being aware of the salary are false.
“That’s incorrect, we put the position forward as an $85,000/a year hire,” Mayhew said. “We didn’t publish the salary in the updated job description, because by doing that you limit the pool of applicants. This was part and parcel to discussions we had with the search committee and the BOA.”
Mayhew said the salary for the job was put in the special working balance of the annual city budget, in anticipation of the job being filled. The city’s tax board, at its Nov. 22 meeting, voted 7 – 3 in favor of transferring the money from the special working balance into the economic development director line item.
Salway, in a prepared statement, said he’s excited to help foster economic development in Derby.
“Main Street south, Fountain Lake Industrial Park and the mayor’s concept of establishing transformation zones that lead to long-term redevelopment and economic growth represent exciting opportunities,” he said. “I am very much looking forward to being an integral part of the rebirth of Connecticut’s smallest city.”
