Rule likely to prevent repeat of debris deal

As published in the Record Journal Friday February 17, 2012

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225

WALLINGFORD - Town employees are allowed to bid on contracts with the town, according to the Town Charter, but a recent event highlights the complications that can occur.

Randy Mangino, a public works employee, had a contract with the town’s Water Department that allowed for debris and fill to be discarded at his Shady Drive disposal site. In January, due to a misreading of the contract, wood cut from the town’s parks by public works employees was improperly disposed of at his site, rather than at a public works yard.

“There was an investigation, but it was determined there was no intentional wrongdoing; the wood was restored,” Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. said.

But Dickinson admitted that when contracts overlap with an employee’s work, mistakes can be made.

“We’re planning to make it clear that it’s not a good situation to have a department contract with its employees,” he said.

The charter specifies “no officer or employee shall enter into any contract with the town other than a contract of employment, unless the contract has been awarded through an open and public process, including prior public offer and subsequent public disclosure of all proposals considered.”

Dickinson said that he had been discussing a directive or a mechanism to prevent the same situation from happening again. In his 28 years as mayor, Dickinson said, he’s never seen a similar situation. But when a town employee has a contract with the town, “it’s got to be arm’s length” from his town duties, Dickinson said.

“When any employee is doing business other than as an employee with that department ... it gets too confusing,” he said. “We want to put an end to that practice.” Mangino’s company, Mangino Excavation LLC, was the low bidder for the three-year disposal deal. Under the contract, he was paid $4 in 2009, $5 in 2010 and $6 in 2011 for each cubic yard of debris he picked up and hauled to his site. Four other firms, from Wallingford, Durham, Milford and Orange, submitted bids that were higher.

Mangino could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Corporation Counsel Janis Small said the town was reviewing the provisions in the charter that allow public employees to bid on town contracts and seeing if there’s a way to further define them. There are ways other than a charter revision to address the issues, she said.

“There’s safety in putting something out to bid; everyone has a fair shake,” she said. “But we’re looking at the practicalities of that.”

Small said the charter provision was good, but “it doesn’t take it to the next level.”

“There are still some serious questions,” she said.

Town clerk changes as council shifts

By Dave Moran
Record-Journal staff
dmoran@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224

As published in the Record Journal Saturday January 2, 2010

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WALLINGFORD — Monday will mark the end of Barbara Kapi’s two years as town clerk. On Tuesday, Barbara Thompson, who served as clerk for two years before Kapi, will assume the po­sition again after the new Repub­lican controlled Town Council appoints her at its swearing in ceremony Monday evening.

Under the Town Charter, the Town Council is responsible for appointing a clerk. Typically, if control of the council shifts, the majority party appoints a clerk who is a member of the same party. On Monday, the Republi­cans gain a 6-3 advantage.

Since the charter was adopted in 1961, the position has changed hands 11 times (Monday’s switch will be the 12th), but three of those switches have occurred in the last six years. In January 2004, Rosemary Rascati, who served 12 years as clerk, was re­placed by Katherine Zandri, a De­mocrat. Thompson, a Republi­can, succeeded Zandri in January 2006, and Kapi, a Democrat, re­placed Thompson in 2008.

“It’s difficult,” Sue Colberg, who has worked in the office for 14 years, said Thursday. “It’s just repetitive that we have to go through it every two years, all the same things.”

Because the clerk is a promi­nent position, there has been a recent effort to find a way to sta­bilize the job. The clerk heads the office that keeps the town’s per­manent records and vital statis­tics, such as birth and death cer­tificates, and issues licenses.

One of the seven proposed re­visions to the Town Charter that voters rejected in November would have changed the clerk’s position to a merit job — hired, supervised and, if need be, dismissed by the mayor.

Thompson, a real estate agent, said the potential for volatility could be detrimental to the town.

“The drawback is there’s a lack of consistency of the head person in the department to move the department for­ward,” she said. “I think we’ve been very lucky to have very good clerks through the appointment process, but at some point that is not going to happen.”

Thompson said she sup­ported the amendment that would have made the clerk a permanent position. Kapi, who said she is looking forward to some time off be­fore looking for a new job, said the uncertainty did not influ­ence her decision to accept the post two years ago.

“You have to be wary of that,” Kapi said. “It just comes with the territory.”

She favors making the clerk an elected position, for a mini­mum term of four years, be­cause it took her more than a year to learn the job.

“The job is so involved,” Kapi said. “And there’s always changes. There’s been so many changes in the two years that I’ve been here.”

Despite having to learn a new computer system, Thompson said she does not expect the transition to be too difficult the second time around. “I figure about 10 days to two weeks and I should be up to speed,” she said.

The council sets the clerk’s salary when it makes the ap­pointment, but Thompson said Thursday that the council had already told her the salary would be the same as the last time she served — $60,900 a year.

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