Norwich - John Bilda started his dual role as acting city manager and Norwich Public Utilities general manager Tuesday with a budget meeting at City Hall, followed by a trip to Hartford for a Clean Air Act permit review of NPU's combustion turbine in Greeneville and then preparing for a long utility commission meeting.

Bilda's new duties officially started at midnight Tuesday after he was appointed acting city manager by the City Council Monday night following former City Manager Alan Bergren's resignation. Norwich has no assistant city manager. Human Resources Director Brigid Marks recently had held the reins in Bergren's absence.

Bergren's departure, said to be a mutual decision by both he and the City Council, came on the eve of budget deliberations by the city and NPU - each budget well in excess of $100 million and due within the next two months.

"I spent a considerable amount of time with (Comptroller Josh Pothier) this morning," Bilda said Tuesday, as he prepared to depart for the Hartford air permit meeting. "They are at the spot where they normally would be at. All the department heads have submitted their first cuts to him. He has not done that review yet. He normally performs that review with the city manager, so we will sit down and do that."

The city budget by charter must be presented to the City Council at the first meeting in April. The NPU budget follows a slightly later schedule, with approval by the Board of Public Utilities Commissioners and Sewer Authority prior to a presentation to the City Council in May.

"I don't foresee any problems putting both budgets forth on time," Bilda said.

Bilda met with other city employees Tuesday morning as well, and said some naturally were not pleased with Bergren's sudden departure Monday. Bilda said he plans to spend most of his work week at City Hall handling city business with a mix of NPU business as well. He will have his NPU computer installed at the city manager's office once Bergren clears out his belongings.

"All the staff I've met with thus far was very cooperative and making sure that the city government is very, very functional," Bilda said. "Everyone was sad to see Alan go. They like him as a friend."

Bilda also counted Bergren as a friend and said the former city manager was a professional who did a good job.

But City Council leaders apparently decided to seek Bergren's resignation and then appoint Bilda as interim city manager some three weeks ago, when Mayor Deberey Hinchey broached the subject with Bilda. Hinchey and Aldermen Mark Bettencourt and Sofee Noblick met with Bergren late Friday, when his resignation apparently was solidified.

The mayor called it a "mutually agreed upon decision."

Bergren's announcement Monday was immediately followed by resolutions prepared earlier to name Bilda as interim city manager and the entire council as the city manager search committee. A third resolution calls for Corporation Counsel Michael Driscoll and Pothier to negotiate a severance agreement with Bergren according to his contract.

Bergren remained cheerful late Monday discussing his love of municipal government administration and his 30-year dream of working in the "magnificent" Norwich City Hall that dated back to 1978 when he first interviewed for an assistant's position.

"I don't know what's next," Bergren said. "I'm a free agent."

Wording in the council's resolution calling for Bilda to take over on Feb. 13 caused initial confusion. Hinchey said the numeral "13" was a mistake, and the resolution should have read "Feb. 3."

Other pressing issues involving the city manager include the current review of three private developers' proposals to build and lease a new police station to the city. A review committee that included Bergren met with the three developers Jan. 12. City Purchasing Agent William Hathaway said Tuesday that the committee now is seeking answers to some questions from two of the developers and should be ready to continue its review next week.

Bilda expects to join that committee and said he will have to educate himself on the proposals. As for other functions Bergren handled - including serving as the city's representative on the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments - he will defer to the City Council's wishes.

"Where the city will get the most value out of my participation, those are the boards and the committees and commissions I will participate in," Bilda said.

Bilda, who has an engineering background and a master's degree in business administration, was noncommittal on whether he would seek the permanent city manager position - which pays substantially less than his $188,801 current NPU salary. He said it's too early to answer the question, just hours into his interim appointment.

"I've always been interested in government," Bilda said. "I've worked in utility government for 28 years now."

c.bessette@theday.com

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