1991/10/29APPROVED
SPECIAL EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING
October 29, 1991
Mayor Robert Peters called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.. Present
were Deputy Mayor Karen McQuade, Deputy MayorAngelo Tiezzi, Attorney
E. Timothy Sullivan-Corporation Counsel, Clyde Selner-Inland Wetlands
Cc~ssionChai~, Richard Kuziak-Cc~ssionmember, A1 Gerdis, Dana
Tofig-HartfordCourant reporter, and Janice Serafino-Secre~ry.
A~roval of Minutes
The Secretary noted the following corrections to be made to the minutes
of October 22, 1991:
- Page 1: New Business, paragraph 1, line 1, eliminate second "the";
Add entry of Mr. A1 Gerdis after Six Year Plans.
- Page 2:
Item ~3, line 6, "Governor" should be "State";
Item #4, line 5, "on keeping the property" should be "to go
forward with the bid".
- Page 4: Board and Conmzission Matters, paragraph 5, line 3, add "on
old wetland matters" following "Vineyard Acres".
Mayor Peters moved to approve the minutes with these corrections,
seconded by Deputy Mayor Tiezzi, passed unanimously.
Recapitulation of Minutes
Discussion, no action taken.
Audience of citizens
Mayor Peters asked if anyone had anything they wished to say. Mr. A1
Gerdis said that he did not like the idea of blacktopping the concrete
roadway on Farmington Avenue as this was a beautiful concrete roadway.
Personnel/PurchasingMatters
Mayor Peters asked to pass this item until the Insurance Agent of
Rmcord arrives.
Corporation Counsel
~_~.~? Sullivan stated that he had spoken with Mr. Selner..regarding
~!~'~nd Wetlands Cc~-~,-~-,~ssion letter of request f.o~
~.~, "~'.~.'->~s~t,¥~ek. He.sa~d that he w~u. ld have a~Ff~"r~S~? t.o
-~_ 3~_~.,_,3~{nds. Cc~-~-~?ss~on by the tzme they need .~913~. ~_~ ..!~,~' ~de.c~smon
Board and Cc~nission Matters
Historic District C~,~ssion: Still open
Youth Services AdvisoryBoard: Upon recc~mendation of DougTruitt,
Youth Services Coordinator, Mayor Peters moved to remove Laurie Skinner
as youth representative to the Board, as she is now away at college,
seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade, passed unanimously. Mayor Peters
moved to appoint Liz Miller to fill the term of Ms. Skinner, to 1992,
seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade, passed unanimously. Mayor Peters
moved to appoint Amy Yale to serve a two year term on the Board, to
1993, seconded by DeputyMayor Tiezzi, passed unanimously.
Finance
Budget Transfers and/or Appropriations
None.
Tax Refunds
Mayor Peters moved to approve a tax refund in the an~unt of $1472.71
for Ralph and Carol Pepe, due to the fact that house was measured
incorrectly either by previous Assessor or cc~pany that did
revaluation, resulting in fact that they had been over charged for the
past five years, seconded by Deputy Mayor Tiezzi. In the discussion
that follcw~d, Deputy Mayor Tiezzi asked if we can pinpoint who made
the original error? Mayor Peters said that Dick Feegel, Assessor said
that this is not possible. The motion was passed unanimously.
New Business
Insurance A~ent of Record
Bonnie Allen, Insurance Agent of Record for the Town, and James
D'Errico, Director of Personnel/Purchasing, joined the meeting at
7:12 p.m..
Mayor Peters told Ms. Allen that he had asked her to meet w~th the
Executive Board to give the them scme information on what type of
insurance coverage we can expect on the oil leak at Griswold School.
He told her that the Town has hired an environmental expert in the hope
of protecting the interests of the Town in this matter.
Dana Tofig, Courant reporter, left the meeting at 7:15 p.m..
Ms. Allen told the Board that the Town has coverage of up to
$25,000,with a $25,000 deductible, for clean up of our own site; we
have no, overage for off-site damages. Ms. Allen said that The Hartford
will cooperate with the Town and that their engineer has been to the
site and will file a report on his findings as to the cause of the
rupture. She said at this time he is leaning towards ~proper
installation but this is not definitive.
-2-
Mr. Gerdis left the meeting at 7:20 p.m..
After further discussion, Ms. Allen left the meeting at 7:25 p.m..
Personnel/Purchasing Matters
Mayor Peters referred to a letter frcm John Miller, Chairman of the
~zployee Awards C~,,,,~ttee, requesting that the Board consider an
employee suggestion for signs to be placed on the Town Hall and in the
driveway directing people to the Police Station. The Mayor said that
he personally did not like to see a lot of signs, and there are already
several in this area. After a brief discussion, Mayor Peters then
moved that the Board not impl~m~_nt this suggestion, seconded by Deputy
Mayor Tiezzi, passed unanimously.
The Executive Board members reviewed the probationary report sutm%itted
by Lt. Wild for Jacqueline LaFleur, Civilian Police Dispatcher. Mayor
Peters moved to have the Personnel Director notify Ms. LaFleur that she
is now a permanent ~mployee, having successfully cc~pleted her
probationary period, seconded, by Deputy Mayor Tiezzi, passed
unanimously.
The Mayor then asked Mr. D'Errico to report to the Board on what he has
learned regarding the Water Department billing situation with Ruepp
Electric during his interviews w/th the three managers in that
Depar b~nt.
Mr. D'Errico stated that he had interviewed all three employees, who
w~re very cooperative, answered all questions asked and volunteered
additional information. He said the main thrust of his questions was
to determine matters of fact, timing and what actually occurred based
on what information had been given and at what time.
For informational purposes, Mr. D'Errico said the Water Depai-bL~nt
"paper trail" is as follows: Mr. Baldyga makes contact with the
vendors, ccmpletes a request for purchase order form which he su~ts
to Mr. Ross; Mr. Ross then obtains a purchase order frcm the
Purchasing Office; Mr. Baldyga receives the invoices which he reviews
and initials before forwarding to Mr. Seelye, who as Director,
authorizes payment and forwards them to Finance for payment.
The interview information provided by Mr. D'Errico is as follows:
Henry Baldyga, Water Control Superintendent: Mr. Baldyga stated that
during the past two or three years he had been making ~rgan Seelye,
Director, and Jack Ross, Administrative Assistant, aware that Ruepp was
not suhnitting bills for services provided. Mr. D'Errico said that he
asked Mr. Ba. ldyga several times if this information was given to both
managers prior to this fiscal year, and he stated that it was.
The Personnel Director said he tried to determine what brought this
matter to the attention of others. He stated that Mr. Baldyga informed
him that it was at the year end meeting of the Public Works
-3-
Depai-hL~nts, sc~etime in the beginning of June, 1991. Mr. Baldyga said
at this meeting the procedures for the end of the fiscal year, as well
as memos frc~ the Finance Director and Mayor regarding timely
processing of bills for the correct fiscal year, were discussed. He said
that after this meeting he again contacted Mr. Ruepp to suk~it bills.
Mr. D'Errico said that the Superintendent stated that Ruepp Electric
did quality work, and that his lack of billing was also felt by other
cc~panies for whom he has done work.
When asked why he did not take out any purchase orders when calling
Ruepp Electric to do work, Mr. Baldyga responded by stating that he
assumed the front office had taken out a running P.O.. When asked what
he did when he began to realize there was a problem, Mr. Baldyga
responded by saying that in his capacity as Superintendent he talked to
Mr. Ruepp about sut~/tting bills and told those in the front office,
Mr. Seelye and Mr. Ross, that Mr. Ruepp had not been submitting bills.
When asked if he had any input into the budget preparation of the
Depar~.,ent, Mr. Baldyga said he did not, that Mr. Ross essentially did
that preparation. When asked if he provided Mr. Ross with information
needed to put a dollar amount to a line item, he said he did not.
Mr. D'Errico said in concluding his interview with Mr. Baldyga, he
asked him if he had indicated to Mr. Seelye or Mr. Ross that there was
"x" amount of money owed for "x" number of years? Mr. Baldyga said
no, that he had made general statements that Ruepp was not supplying
bills. Mr. Baldyga c~',~leted his stat~nents by saying that he had
taken out purchase order requests for all other contractors, as
required.
Jack Ross - Administrative Assistant: Mr. D'Errico said that as Mr.
Ross had suhnittedhis explanation of thismatter in writingto the
Mayor, he did not ask him manyquestions.
Asked whenhe first became aware of this matter, Mr. Ross said it was
during the fourth quarter of 1990. At this time Mr. Ross said he
talked to Mr. Ruepp on two occasions, when he was in the Town Hall,
about suhnitting invoices to the Director.
When asked about line itsmbudget preparation, Mr. Ross provided a
print out showing that the budget does not list specific contracts.
Morgan Seelye - Director: Mr. Seelye stated that a purchase order
should have been taken out by Henry Baldyga under the current systs~,
via a request for purchase order to Mr. Ross.
When asked at what point he became aware of the situation, Mr. Seelye
stated on or about the time of the Public Works Deparh~nts year end
meeting. He said after that meeting that Mr. Baldyga was to deal with
the matter. When asked if he had been told by Mr. Baldyga that Ruepp
was not suhnitting bills, Mr. Seelye responded that he did recall being
told about it. When asked if he was told it was for previous years
also, Mr. Seelye said no, he believed it was for the current year
only. Mr. Seelye said he was told in general terms that Rueppwas just
not sukmitting bills. In his capacity as Director, Mr. Seelye said he
did not deal with those matters.
P~garding the budget preparation, Mr. Seelye said that Mr. Ross
generates the technical aspects of the budget for the daily operation
of the Depa~,,~nt. He said that he has input into the budget from the
engineering aspects and for major purchases. The Director said that he
never sees a purchase order, just approves bills for payment, making
sure items/services have been received and charges are reasonable
and/or according to bids.
Deputy Mayor Tiezzi said that as Mr. Seelye is the last to approve the
bills and had not seen one from Ruepp in many years, it should have
occured to him that something was wrong. Mr. D'Errico said that Mr.
Seelye's explanation, when asked this same question by him, was that
this is not where his focus is.
Mayor Peters said that Mr. Seelye is supposed to answer directly to the
Mayor. Why then did he not see fit to notify the Mayor's office when
he realized there was a problem? Mr. D' Errico said Mr. Seelye' s
contention is that when the hint of the gravity of the problem became
known to him, he told all his divisions to get to all contractors to
suk~it their bills. He said it was after this that he received a stack
of bills frem Ruepp, which according to normal procedures in the
Depak~,~nt he forwarded to Mr. Baldyga to verify. Mr. Seelye stated
that although he suspected a problem, he never expected one of this
dimension. He said that when he received the bills back from Mr.
Baldyga, he did not have chance to tell anyone before Mr. Ross informed
the Finance Director of the problem.
~yor Peters said that his biggest problem with the situation is that
the top manager is notified prior to the end of the fiscal year, allows
that year to end knowing the Town owes money, and does not notify the
Mayor.
Mr. D'Errico said it was his impression that Mr. Seelye did not
realized the magnitude, or that it was a multiple year bill. Mayor
Peters said that when he met with Mr. Ruepp he was told that the last
time Mr. Ruepp suk~itted a bill it, too, was a multiple year bill.
Mayor Peters said that Mr. Ross was not ~ployed by the Town at that
time, but Mr. Seelye and Mr. Baldyga w~re and should have been aware of
Mr. Ruepp's past practice of not suk~itting bills.
Mr. D'Errico concluded by stating the following:
~ It was his opinion that the facts d~nonstrate the responsibility for
the purchase order process begin with Mr. Baldyga, the needs for goods
or services begin with Mr. Baldyga, and they ~re not dealt with in
this particular case. He said that Mr. Baldyga knew the process and
did not follow it. Mr. D'Errico said that although Mr. Baldyga did
tran~zit information to his superiors, he cannot tell if the total
impact of the situation was made clear to them.
-5-
- Any number of times between 1986 and 1991, when it would have se~
reasonable to him, scmeone should have D~ticed that the Department was
experiencing a lack of expenditures for electric work in the water and
sewer systems. He said that there are specific areas of work: pipes,
digging of holes, and electric; if the Department was not spending much
money in one particular area, scx~ne should have been aware of this.
Mr. D'Errico said that as Jack Ross prepared the budget and took out
purchase orders, the awareness should have arisen with him.
- Mr. Seelye, by his own admission, needs to bear scme of the
responsibility.
- For a situation like this to happen is unique, requiring a number of
events to be in place, namely no purchase orders taken and no bills
received, which is unlikely. The current purchase order system for the
Town is designed to prohibit unauthorized expenditures and the system
would have flagged a problem had not both of these occurred
simultaneously.
Mayor Peters suggested that the Board go into Executive Session later
in the meeting to discuss Mr. D'Errico's report. He asked that the
Personnel Director's c~t-~¥~nts be typed separately for the Executive
Board's review and that Mr. D'Errico obtain the rate of pay for each of
the three employees and the dates for Jack Ross's service on Jury Duty.
Mr. D'Errico left the meeting at 8:20 p.m..
New Business Continued
Six Year Plans
A1 Hawkins, Director of Golf Course/Public Works; A1 Beckley. Golf
Course Force,an; Steven Kelly, Recreational Services Director; Bill
Baccaro, Park and Recreation C~L'~-.~$sion C~airman, joined the meeting at
8:20 p.m.
to discuss Six Year Plans.
The Executive Board reviewed the six year plans for the Golf Course,
Public Grounds and Recreational Services Departments.
All of the above personnel left the meeting at 9:18 p.m., at which
time the Executive Board took a brief break, resuming the meeting at
9:25 p.m..
Executive Session
Mayor Peters moved to enter Executive Session at 9:25 p.m. to discuss
the Water Control Department matter, seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade,
passed unanimously. At this time Mr. Selner, C~a~rman of the Inland
Wetlands Cc~ssion asked if the Board wa~ going to discuss him. The
Mayor said they w~re only to discuss the Water Control matter.
Mayor Peters moved to exit Executive Session, seconded by DeputyMayor
~de, passed unanimously. No action taken.
-6-
Mr. Selner, Mr. Kuziak and the Secretary re-entered the meeting.
At this time Mayor Peters asked Mr. Selner the following questions
regarding the letter of October 23rd, sent to him by the Executive
Mayor Peters: Have you c~plied with the directives of this letter,
that is not to act on an~ old wetland violations in Vineyard Acres?
Mr. Selner: Yes.
Mayor: Do you plan to continue to c~,~ly with the directives of this
letter?
Selner: If I see new violations I will act.
Mayor: Provided you act with your C~t,~',~ssion's knowledge.
Selner: Can I contact the Army Corps of Engineers or DEP?
Mayor: Yes, you can.
Mayor: A~ain, will you ccmply with the directives of this letter?
Selner: Yes, I will r~t take any action against Mr. Wicklund, as I am
no longer an agent of the Ccn~nission.
Mayor Peters moved to have this matter remain on the table, for
discussion at the next meeting, seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade. At
this time Mr. Selner stated that he had not received notification under
section 4-6d of the Charter, which entitles him to a hearing and legal
counsel if the Board is considering removing him frcm the cut,~,~ssion.
The Mayor told Mr. Selner that if they make such a decision, he will be
so notified. The motion to table the matter was passed unanimously.
Adjou~=~nt
Mayor Peters moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:50 p.m., seconded by
Deputy Mayor Tiezzi, passed unanimously.
yanice Serafino, Executiv~Secretary