City Hires New HR Manager; Alders OK Salary Bump

Local legislators signed off on a new higher salary for City Hall’s human resources director position — as the Elicker Administration has now filled that previously vacant role with a new hire.

Alders took that unanimous salary-bumping vote Tuesday night during the latest full Board of Alders meeting in the Aldermanic Chamber on the second floor of City Hall.

The alders voted to approve the Elicker Administration’s request that the manager of human resources and benefits position receive a ​“key employee salary” of $124,500 per year. The city’s previous human resources manager, Steve Librandi, was making his then-role’s maximum annual salary of $111,000 by the time he retired last September after more than a decade on the job.

City Chief Administrative Officer Regina Rush-Kittle, who has been filling in as city HR manager since Librandi’s retirement, told the Independent on Tuesday that the city has now hired Marcela Garcia, an East Haven-based hiring manager with seven years of experience in the private sector, to be the city’s next human resources manager. She said that Garcia started her new city job this week.

According to Rush-Kittle, Garcia most recently worked as the regional manager of operations for North American Dental Group. She has also worked in management and operations at other dental and retail companies, including at Kool Smiles Dental, Target, and Babies R Us. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Southern Connecticut State University and an associate’s degree in business administration from Gateway Community College.

“She has many years of experience. She was our top candidate,” Rush-Kittle said on Tuesday. ​“We’re excited to have her join the City of New Haven.”

Tuesday’s HR position salary vote came roughly three months after the alders signed off on reclassifying the city’s budget director, chief technology officer, and human resources manager as​“key employees.” That designation bumped up the salary ranges for those positions to $100,000 — $169,000 per year, with the final salary for each position to be negotiated between the city and the candidate to be hired. It also boosted pension benefits for those positions. The Elicker Administration pitched that salary and pension change last fall as part of an effort to reverse vacancies and retain staff in high-ranking positions at City Hall.