By Larry Smith, Courant staff writer
Hartford Courant (Connecticut)
Copyright 2006 The Hartford Courant Company
ENFIELD, Conn.- The chairwoman of the Republican town committee is questioning the hiring of the town attorney to also be Enfield’s public safety director.
Mary Ann Turner, the GOP leader, chastised the town council at its meeting Monday for splitting off a job that had been under the town manager’s auspices and for choosing Town Attorney Christopher Bromson to fill the part-time position.
Under the new job, Bromson oversees the police department and emergency medical services. He earns $52,000 on top of his $50,000 annual salary as town attorney and will answer to the town manager.
“It sounds like a lot of money for a part-time job,” Turner said.
Although Bromson is qualified for the job, Turner said, the council should have also considered other candidates. Turner asked why the council took money from the police department that was supposed to be used for a new police officer.
“We have a safety director who’s going to do a good job for $52,000 and an attorney who’s going to a good job for $50,000 and it’s the same person,” Turner said.
She also questioned if having the same person as town attorney and public safety director would be a conflict of interest when the town might be investigating a situation with the police department. That will cause the town to have to spend more money on another attorney, she added.
Mayor Patrick Tallarita responded to Turner after she had left the meeting, saying the town council had discussed the changing needs of the position. Not only does the person oversee the police department but also has the added responsibility of supervising the emergency medical services, he said.
The town council decided to use the money planned for a new police officer after Police Chief Carl Sferazza said he would not be able to get a new officer hired and on full duty before the end of the 2006-07 fiscal year, Tallarita said.
Tallarita said Bromson appointed himself public safety director six months ago when he was acting town manager, as every town manager before him has done.
“I believe what he did was proper and the council was aware of it,” Tallarita said.
The council decided that it wanted to keep Bromson in the role of public safety director because of his experience as an attorney and because he helped put the emergency medical services together, Tallarita said. The move was also endorsed by the police chief, EMS director, the town’s fire chiefs and other officials, he added.
Tallarita likened Bromson’s new role as chief law enforcement official in the town to that of the U.S. Attorney General.