Shining Sunlight On Moonlight

Retired city firefighter Andy Fardy takes a hose to city employees, he says, are moonlighting financially. Fardy commentary:

Every time you think someone in the Finch administration can’t screw up any more than they already have … they up and surprise you again.

This time it’s David Dunn our (cough, cough) temporary head of Civil Service. Mr. Dunn was hired after the city railroaded Ralph Jacobs out of the position.

Mr. Dunn has served as the head of Civil Service for a number of years. He is paid a salary of $120,000 per year plus great benefits and a pension.

The other day I was reading the Connecticut Post when I saw a story about a study that was done on the salary level of the Mayor of Shelton. I read where David Dunn, a management consultant was hired to do the salary study for the mayor’s position in Shelton.

The question is how much of his consultant work was done on city time? A person would think Dunn has Civil Service running at top speed and he has some free time.

Well Civil Service is not running up to speed and Dunn refuses to make any changes.

Here are just a few changes that were made to Civil Service and should be changed back the way they were.

1. All job applications for ALL city positions should be opened to city residents only. Presently the candidates can come from any city or state. One must remember David Dunn does not live here and the president of the civil service commission lives in Trumbull. Does anyone think they care about employing city residents?

2. They must set a mandatory age requirement for Police Officers and firefighters. Presently there is no maximum age requirement and we are hiring 45- and 55-year-old rookies who will never make the 25-year pension requirement and will end up with a disability pension. Federal Law allows for the setting of a maximum age for public safety officers.

I am also wondering about Tom McCarthy, the council president and city labor relations officer. He is at so many photo ops with Mayor Finch I thought they were joined at the hip, or is it lip? In either case is McCarthy being paid by the city at his labor relations pay or does anyone think he is taking vacation time for all these photo ops?

Tom, has anyone returned to the city the money you so generously donated to various charities in the names of 15 of the 20 council people?

How many others are working other jobs while on city time?

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18 comments

  1. Moonlighting is better than freeloading. OIB readers should know, based on his former job, ACF is a documented liability to the City of Bridgeport. His free C.O.L.A. makes him an increasing liability, too.
    Consequently, I think he’s wrong to criticize current employees and badmouth the same Mayor who safeguards his monthly benefit.

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  2. Local Eyes, maybe just maybe one day you will post information that is correct. First off, I do not get a cost of living increase. Second, Mayor Finch is not safeguarding my pension as he is not making the proper payments to the pension plan. If you had a real job maybe you would have a pension.

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    1. Your benefits make you a long-term liability; my savings make me an instant asset. You can’t teach people to do what I do. Your operatives provide you with misinformation that is harmful to my reputation but great for my fortitude!

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  3. Local Eyes,
    Andy Fardy, Ron Mackey, Dave Daniels, and Donald Day to mention a few OIB writers have served in public safety positions with Bridgeport to qualify for pension plan payouts. Andy and Ron were covered by Plan A. I am not certain about the others, and even if they are Plan B, the extent of the City liability is not public knowledge as that information has not been provided despite State agreements in recent years.
    The “COLA” you reference actually raises the retiree benefit when current safety officers receive increases, but since retirees have no voice at the union or pension plan table and these earlier retirees received no pension credit for overtime service, there is some equity involved.

    To cast Mayor Bill Finch as “safeguarding” Andy’s monthly benefit is quite a stretch in my opinion. I have attended several Pension A meetings. They are about investing assets and listening to comments about the portfolio with an adviser. I have never heard any specific concern from Mayor Finch about safeguarding monthly benefits for any pensioner.

    With the volatility in many markets today where Pension A assets are invested, with the demands on an inadequate fund balance to provide benefits to retirees, and the City continuing to provide lower pension contributions to the plans than would make them strong, I think voices like Andy, Ron, and others about current City fiscal practices and processes that are at a low standard are necessary. Where are the City responses? Do they respect the citizen, the taxpayer and the voter in 2015? Time will tell.

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  4. JML, you are absolutely correct in your observations Pension Plan A (of which I am a member), the “COLA” as well as to whether Mayor Finch is safeguarding our pension. You are completely correct about Mayor Finch not respecting the citizen, the taxpayer or the voter.

    Andy, with respect to David Dunn he held a position in Labor relations I believe and he also did work concurrently with the Town of Stratford while employed in Bridgeport. This appears to be his modus operandi. What astounds me is not that he does these things, but the administration continually lets him get away with this crap.

    JML, how would I find out about the budget of Civil Service, now and prior to David Dunn getting this position over five years ago? I believe the City is underfunding this department and the job of David Dunn is to do more with less and that is the reason he is being left in this position without the benefit of an exam, the knowledge of civil service or the experience of being a civil service administrator.

    As long as he is in this position Bridgeport residents will not be hired, blacks will not be hired and women will not be hired in public safety jobs. I could be wrong, but I don’t think so!

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  5. Andy Fardy, thanks for bringing up this topic. David Dunn is holding a tested position in which he has NEVER TAKEN the test. This is all Mayor Finch’s doing, the mayor refuses to have a nationwide search to give the exam for Dunn’s position.

    As for Dunn double-dipping, well this is nothing new, Dunn has been working for the City in the Labor Relation Office and working for Stratford and doing his outside management consultant and Mayor Finch is well aware of this but does nothing and the City Council will not ask any questions about any of this because the City Council President, who works in the Labor Relation Office (and has worked with Dunn in that office) will not allow the subject to come up. This is all about power, Finch believes in control and that’s what Dunn gives the mayor. Dunn controls who is hired by the test and requirements for every test. As head of Civil Service Dunn makes the case for discipline against union employees but he picks and chose who he wants to protect and who he wants to discipline. David Dunn’s employment goes back to Mayor John Mandanici back in 1975, Dunn is kept around because he knows where the “bodies and bones are buried,” but he is NOT qualified to hold the position as the head of Civil Service. Mayor Finch needs to call for a nationwide search for this position, as called for by the City Charter.

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  6. When this administration gets rid of a manager they never fill the job permanently. Let’s list a few:
    1. Superintendent of Parks: Is a tested position requiring a certain type of degree the present temporary office holder does not have.
    2. Housing Code Department: Finch forced out the long-time director and put now suspended Rich Paoletto in the job temporarily.
    3. Bridgeport Harbor Position: Long-time director forced to resign and position filled by city CAO Nunn
    4. Civil Service Long-time director Jacobs forced out and David two-jobs Dunn is temporarily in his place for the last five years.
    5. Head of WPCA forced to retire and has been temporarily replaced.
    I can’t think of anyone else but I am sure they are out there.

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    1. Acting Director Bernd Tardy was scheduled for hearing Tuesday this week. Interesting, an “Acting” head of one department, apparently not tested and found qualified, can administer tests, rulings, and process for others, isn’t it?

      Donald, call me at 203-259-9642 if you are so inclined to discuss the info you reference. Easiest thing would be to go to the City Clerk’s office on Monday, Tuesday AM, Wednesday or Friday when they are open to look at the Approved budget books for the years in question. Check out the Department pages, usually about five per department with lots of info and you can compare # of employees, total budget, other expenses, accomplished goals, and those for the new year. How much is real is a different story. Time will tell.

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  7. Andy is right on the money with this one. Although I am sure it is not the practice but high ranking members of the administration do not work 37.5-hour weeks. They should not be taking on any other outside work PERIOD.
    Wasn’t Finch going to have all his department heads disclose any outside interests after the issue in Public Facilities? But that was just another reform that was brought up and let go. Speaking of letting go, when is it we can let go of Bill Finch? Is it 2015 yet?

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  8. To robo-sign is to safeguard as determined by rule of law.
    Otherwise, I was wrong. When current members get a raise (aka a cost-of-living adjustment), ACF gets an increase, too. JML is way cool. My fans say even when I’m wrong, I’m right.
    In an unrelated matter, Bob Walsh has become my least favorite VRCALWBAWBOOIB which stands for Voluntarily Retired Councilman At Large Who Became A Wayward Blogger On Only In Bridgeport.

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  9. Here is the latest about our friends at city hall. Which high-ranking administration official has a gambling problem that was dormant for a long while but now has raised its ugly head again?

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    1. Winning streaks? They end too soon. Losing streaks? They extend beyond breaking points. Your losses provide leverage through potential scandal and worse to those who have a course of action away from the gambling site. Isn’t there enough excitement trying to serve the public here in Bridgeport? Otherwise it’s merely feeding your greed. Time will tell.

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