City Hall Efficiency Focus of Mayor's New Task Force

Mayor Dan Drew announced today the creation of a bipartisan task force to review operations of city hall and recommend efficiencies within city government.

The creation of the Mayor’s Task Force on Efficiency in Government was spurred by the retirement, and impending retirement, of a good number of city employees, according to Drew. “We have a few dozen that have already or will be retiring in sort of a wave,” he said, from September of this year to March of 2012, scattered throughout various departments.

The hope is to realize efficiencies throughout city government because of these attritions resulting from retirement.

Drew has chosen Common Council members Gerry Daley, chair, Todd Berch and Joe Bibisi; Dan Ryan, corporation council; Dennis Murphy, state of Connecticut deputy commissioner of labor; Quentin Phipps, city treasurer; Mike Gaudino, industrial technology expert, Middletown business owner, Jamie Mills, labor attorney, Middletown resident; Carl Chisem, transportation professional, Middletown resident.

It represents a mixture, Drew says, of Democrats and Republicans, Council members and citizens.

“Gerry Daley was chair of a very similar committee in the past,” Drew said, for the city of Middletown, prior to Mayor Sebastian N. Giuliano’s tenure.

The task force will report on government operations, including status/efficacy of all existing contracts, personnel practices, spending, using state and federal lobbyists, use of outside council and efficiency of operation practices of city government. The group will report to the Government Finance and Operations Committee on structure and hierarchical organization of city government.

This isn’t the first time the city has grappled with tightening up government.

Citing inefficiency, former Mayor Giuliano moved the Water and Sewer Department from Berlin Street to City Hall in September of this year.

“The department has been running inefficiently for years,” Giuliano said in a press release. “We have tried everything to get this department back on track and quite frankly, this move is the last option before termination proceedings of top administration officials commence.”

Drew said the water department was moved back to Berlin Street a few days ago.

The initial report is of the Mayor’s Task Force on Efficiency in Government due Feb. 28, 2012.