The education of Mayor Finizio

After seeing the City Council refuse to fund a series of labor deals he negotiated, New London Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio told me during a recent interview: "It won't happen again."

No way around it, the rejections were a series of embarrassing defeats for the mayor, especially given that he is a Democrat and Democrats control six of seven council seats. He seemed to forget a basic political rule - don't introduce the legislation until you know you have the votes.

The mayor struck the deals as part of his plan to overhaul the police department. He offered severance deals to facilitate the departure of two captains and Deputy Chief Marshall Segar. The changes give Chief Margaret Ackley, who Finizio says still has his strong support, the ability to put her own team in place (though I should note, it was Ackley who appointed Segar as deputy chief back in January 2010).

Mayor Finizio said he has no regrets about the changes.

"It was very, very necessary. The costs are well worth it," Finizio said. "This was a department in desperate need of restructuring."

Asked to elaborate, the mayor declined, saying he would rather move on.

Of course, moving on became a bit more complicated due to the council's action, or inaction, depending on one's perspective.

"This had a lot to do with the transition to the new government we now have in New London," he told me.

Finizio is the first directly elected mayor to take over the executive duties of the city in accordance with the charter changes. The mayoral powers, he said, give him the authority to negotiate severance agreements with personnel. But the authority to approve any special expenditures necessary to meet the severance contract's obligations rests with the council.

In retrospect, said the mayor, he should have paid greater attention to that distinction. While he thought he had negotiated fair deals, the majority of council members did not agree and some, certainly, did not appreciate being asked to give their approval only after the numbers were negotiated and agreed to.

"If they (the administration) want to spend money, they have to come to us and tell how much they want to spend and what the money is for," said Council President Michael Passero when the council rejected the deals earlier this month.

The severance deals for Segar, Capt. William Dittman and Capt. Michael Lacey collectively committed the city to about $230,000 over several years. All three were long-time veterans of the police force.

The new mayor had asked the council to sign off on the deals so that "the council and administration can start fresh." And in so many words, he promised not to do it again.

"Nothing will happen moving forward in city government without express prior funding approval from the council," said Finizio, stressing the word prior in his comments.

Despite the setback, Finizio says he still sees a need to give the mayor the ability to make personnel changes without having to turn to the council every time, including the negotiating of severance packages. The solution, he said, could be to create an account for such settlements, with the mayor only having to go the council if he exceeds the allocated amount.

Without that flexibility, the mayor said he may avoid any severance deals.

As for the contracts already signed with Segar, Dittman and Lacey, the city appears exposed. The contracts have the mayor's signature and a good case could probably be made they are binding. The council could next face the decision whether it is worth the cost of litigation to try to block enforcement of the severance agreements.

The mayor has also seen the council reject two deals he negotiated with Chief Ackley. It did not want to pay her $25,000 to settle her allegations that a former council member meddled in department affairs and a prior administration did nothing about it. An internal review of those charges found no evidence that Ackley was due damages, but suggested a settlement to avoid litigation and the remote chance the chief could prevail in court. And councilors rejected the four-year contract adjustment Finizio negotiated with Ackley, which would have provided a $3,000 raise and $60,000 for prior comp time.

Ackley continues to work without the contract. As for the settlement, it is hard to envision the chief suing the city she serves, particularly given the shaky nature of her case. In this instance, the council may have done the mayor a favor by saying no.

Paul Choiniere is the editorial page editor.