Walsh And Baker: What’s Going On With Police And Fire Chief Contracts?

From City Council members Bob Walsh and Andre Baker:

Two Bridgeport City Council members today accused the Finch Administration of playing games with public safety as the two employment contracts for the Top Cop and Fire Chief were once again pulled from the agenda for today’s Contracts Committee meeting.

Councilmen Bob Walsh (D 132nd District) and Andre Baker (D 139th District) noted that the two items:

98-10 Proposed Employment Agreement with Chief of Police, Joseph Gaudett.

99-10 Proposed Employment Agreement with Fire Chief, Brian Rooney

appeared on an agenda dated October 4, 2011 but was revised 2 days later with the only change being that these items were removed. The two noted that this is the last regularly scheduled meeting of the committee before the end of the legislative session. They further noted that without a special meeting of the committee, these items will die before reaching the full council and will not be addressed until December or January of next year at the earliest. Both contracts have been before the council since June of this year.

“Something seems amiss,” said Baker. “These contracts were submitted by the administration and yet have not seen the light of day since they came before the council. And now at the last minute, a committee co-chair (Richard Paoletto), who happens to be a city employee, had them pulled from the agenda. This would not happen without the advise and consent of the administration.”

Walsh went on to say that “it would seem as if the mayor has had a change of heart with one of these contracts or one of these individuals but has decided to avoid making it a political football right before the election. The public has the right to know what is going on here.”

Both councilmen said that from their review of the submittals the only difference between the two was that the Gaudett contract called for enforcing a city residency requirement where the Rooney one did not. Both said they had planned on asking the committee to amend the Rooney contract to require language compelling him to live in the city also.

“I believe that residency should be a requirement whenever permitted; especially in the case of public safety officials. What is the message that the city is sending when it refuses to do so? That the city is not safe? That the city is not affordable even for these individuals making well over $100,000 a year? These question need answers from Mayor Finch or his representatives,” Baker demanded.

Walsh noted that the charter and state law allows for residency requirements for the highest ranking, and thus highest paid, city employees. Walsh noted that the city of New Haven enforces such practices and there is no reason why Bridgeport should not do the same.

“It’s just more city taxpayer dollars leaving the city and not staying here. But more importantly if the highest ranking city employees were forced to pay the high property taxes and receive in return questionable services, maybe, just maybe we would see things handled differently. And now instead of change that we are going to see the same old games being played,” the duo concluded.