Norwich — Now that the public hearing is closed on ethics complaints against Mayor Deberey Hinchey, two Norwich Public Utilities staff members and two utilities commission members, the city Ethics Commission has authority to decide whether there is "convincing evidence” that one or more violations occurred, and if so, it could recommend a broad range of action, the city attorney said Friday.

The commission conducted a two-hour public hearing Thursday on six ethics complaints, two against Hinchey and one each against NPU General Manager John Bilda, NPU Division Manager Steve Sinko and utilities commission Chairwoman Dee Boisclair and Vice Chairman Robert Groner. All five attended a lavish trip to the Kentucky Derby in May hosted by the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative. The cooperative paid $342,330 for the trip for 44 participants, including spouses of the four NPU officials.

The NPU officials attended as CMEEC board members, and Hinchey attended as Bilda's guest.

The Ethics Commission next will deliberate on whether participation in the trip violated the prohibition of gifts valued at more than $50 or conflict of interest provisions in the city Code of Ethics.

According to the enforcement provision in the ethics code, the commission must determine, by a vote of at least three members who attended the hearing, whether there is “clear and convincing evidence that one or more violation occurred."

“Clear and convincing evidence is evidence indicating the probability that the respondent committed a violation is substantially greater than the probability that he or she did not,” the code states.

If the commission does find a violation has occurred, it would report the finding and any recommendations to the City Council and “to such other officer or board of the city with the power granted by the Charter or state statute to remove the officer, official, or employee found to have committed the violation, when such power of removal exists.”

If the commission recommends one or more city officials be removed from their positions, the city officer or board with removal authority would have 60 days to respond to the Ethics Commission on “the disposition of the matter.” For other recommendations, the City Council would have the authority to respond to the commission at its discretion, the code states.

The commission has broad authority to make recommendations, city Corporation Counsel Michael Driscoll said Friday, but there are other statutory limitations and employment conditions that could override such recommendations.

For example, the city and state statutes have no provisions that would allow for the removal of Mayor Hinchey from office if the commission so recommended. The city charter describes procedures for filling a mayoral vacancy and even lists “recall” as among the possible reasons for the vacancy. But Driscoll said the city charter and state statutes don’t give Norwich the authority to recall an elected mayor.

Bilda serves as head of NPU by a vote of the Board of Public Utilities Commissioners. Bilda’s current contract runs through January 2019. Sinko, who has worked for NPU since 2000, is a member of the AFSME labor union of NPU administration employees and any proposed discipline would have to follow the contract stipulations, Driscoll said.

The City Council has the authority to appoint and replace members of the Board of Public Utilities Commissioners, but an Ethics Commission recommendation is not a mandate, Driscoll said. Republican Boisclair’s term is set to expire March 1, 2020, while Democrat Groner’s current term will expire March 1, 2018.

Several years ago, now-Alderwoman Joanne Philbrick was censured by the Ethics Commission as a City Hall volunteer docent after she was caught on camera reading then-Mayor Peter Nystrom’s interoffice mail.

In that case, the commission ruled in the summer of 2012 that Philbrick violated the ethics code and that she should not serve on any city board or commission in the future. An apologetic Philbrick at the time resigned as a docent and from her seat on the Personnel and Pension Board.

Five months later, she made an impassioned plea to the Ethics Commission that the ban be lifted. While the commission did not change its ruling, the City Council in March 2015 heard another emotional plea from Philbrick and lifted the ban, appointing her to the new Commission for Persons with Disabilities.

Philbrick, a Republican, subsequently ran for City Council in fall of 2015 and was elected.

“She, in essence, got a commuted sentence,” Driscoll said.

c.bessette@theday.com