Ganim Announces Reorganization, City Staff Changes

News release from Mayor’s Office:

Mayor Ganim announced today that the administration is implementing a reorganization plan that touches several key departments across the City in an effort to improve city operations and fill key positions.

Below are some of the key highlights of the reorganization:

Police Department
— Chief Porter will conduct a search to fill the role of Assistant Chief of Police.
— Three Lieutenants in the Police Department have been elevated to the rank of Captain.
— The Police Department will civilianize financial work currently being done by police officers.

Health Department
— Sumit Sharma will be elevated to Deputy Director of Health overseeing the Communicable Disease Clinic, Environmental Health, Housing Code, and Blight divisions.
— Tammy Papa will become the Deputy Director of Social Services overseeing the new social services unit, Veterans Affairs, Lighthouse, and the Mayor’s Office for Re-Entry Affairs.
— David Reyes will be appointed Director of Health Equity and Emergency Preparedness with a focus on reaching out to community organizations to promote equity in public health and coordinating public health emergency response.

Public Facilities
— Craig Nadrizny will move from “Acting” to permanent Director of Public Facilities.
— Aaron Curry will be elevated to Deputy Director of Public Facilities overseeing the Municipal Garage, Roadway, Recycling, and Sanitation.
— Michelle Otero will transition from Contract Compliance Officer to Director of Construction Services.
— Jed Ferrante will become the Supervisor of Custodial Services overseeing city custodians and tradesmen.
— Public Facilities will advertise and fill a number of roles within the department including the role of Supervisor of District Operations, Tree Warden, Parks Manager, Garage Manager, among others.
— The Department of Aging will be transferred from the Health Department to Parks and Recreation under Public Facilities.

Office of the Mayor
— Constance Vickers will become the Director of Legislative Affairs and ARPA Coordinator for the City of Bridgeport. She will coordinate the City’s legislative agenda with the Bridgeport delegation, as well as assume additional responsibilities managing the City’s American Rescue Plan expenditures and reporting.
— Andy Toledo will transition to the Director of Community Relations, who will serve as the Mayor’s liaison to the Neighborhood Revitalization Zones (NRZs), the Bridgeport Regional Business Council (BRBC), and the Downtown Special Services District (DSSD). He will continue to handle the Mayor’s appointments to the Boards and Commissions.

The Office of the CAO
— The second Assistant Chief Administrative Officer position is permanently eliminated and will be replaced by the position of Deputy Chief Administrative Officer.
— The role of Special Project Manager will be publicly advertised.

Finance Department
— The City will advertise a new position in the Finance Department entitled Property Manager focusing on coordination of city leases and management of city properties.

Office of Planning and Economic Development
— The Economic Development Associate will be elevated to Special Project Coordinator with a focus on project management within OPED.
— The Economic Development Associate position will be publicly advertised. Included in these responsibilities will be a focus on facilitating and promoting the arts in the City of Bridgeport.

Citywide Permitting, Licensing, and Code Enforcement Review
— The City of Bridgeport will be procuring an outside consultant to conduct a thorough review of all of the City’s permitting, licensing, and code enforcement divisions, including Building, Zoning, Fire Marshal, Engineering, Environmental Health, Housing Code, and Blight. This analysis will look at policies, procedures, and personnel within each of these departments over the course a few months and will make recommendations to the administration on changes and restructuring that is needed in each of these departments.

Note that the items listed above do not encompass all of the reorganization items that are going to happen now or may happen as we prepare for the FY 23-24 budget.

“It is important that we periodically examine the structure of city government and fill key positions to ensure that we are operating efficiently and effectively for the benefit of our constituents,” stated Mayor Ganim. “I am confident that the changes that we are making today will make our departments stronger and will place talented individuals in key positions that will improve city government operations.”