Thomas MacMillan Photo
Smart: What car?
A public works manager was issued a suspension notice Monday for failing to follow an order to provide “a permanent vehicle” to the part-time city clerk — a directive both the mayor’s office and the clerk claim never existed.
Public works Deputy Director Alan Bush announced the three-day suspension, effective Tuesday, in a memo to a public works department equipment manager.
Bush wrote his memo a week after the Independent had inquired of the Harp administration about a report that it planned to give City/Town Clerk Michael Smart a full-time city vehicle. The administration denied the report, as did Smart. Smart’s position is part-time.
The public works memo Monday cites four “acts of insubordination” as the basis for the suspension of the manager:
“1) Not complying with the Mayor’s request to issue Mr. Smart a permanent vehicle via my direct order on or about 3/10/2014 in your office;
“2) Not complying/responding with the vehicle status update on Mr. Smart’s vehicle, I sent via email on 3/24/2014 in which you read at 7:30am 3/25/2014;
“3) Refusing to comply with the above previous request on 3/26/2014 for the 3rd time as a direct order outside the DPW Conference room after our safety meeting;
“4) Walking away from me, while I was inquiring about the business of this department on 3/26/2014 outside the DPW Conference room.”
Contacted Monday, Bush said the directive for the permanent vehicle came from “the mayor’s office.” He said he didn’t know who in the office issued the directive.
“We were told to get a car for Michael Smart,” said Bush’s boss, public works chief Doug Arndt.
Must have been a mix-up, according to mayoral Chief of Staff Tomas Reyes.
“I think there has been major confusion, which is being worked out at public works as we speak,” Reyes said late Monday afternoon.
“Michael never made a request for a permanent car,” Reyes said. “The mayor wants to make sure he has access to a city vehicle when he’s doing stuff related to his job.” Smart will have access to an existing car in the city fleet, not one permanently assigned to him, when he needs one to conduct clerk business, Reyes said.
Smart said the only time he asked for access to a car in the city fleet was one day earlier this month, when he needed to drive candidate petitions up to Hartford for the upcoming state representative special election.
“I don’t need a car. I live two blocks away” from the office, he said. “That’s unbelievable!”
Smart’s predecessor, Ron Smith, who held the job 10 years, said he never asked for access to the city fleet. “You don’t need a car at all. The job doesn’t call for a car,” Smith said.
“That was his decision, to use his own car,” Reyes said in reference to Smith’s remarks.
Click here for a list of who in City Hall does get a car to drive home each night. Update: The list came from the mayor’s office. At least one city official, development chief Matthew Nemerson, said the list is incorrect; he said he drives his own Prius, not a city Honda Hybrid.
Under Review
The suspended public works manager, meanwhile, may not end up getting suspended after all.
His union, AFSCME Local 3144, complained about the suspension Monday. Public works chief Arndt said he met with the union. He said he plans to make a decision by Tuesday about the suspension.
“We’re going to represent him to the fullest extent,” said union President Cherlyn Poindexter. She said the city “made a lot of errors” in this case.
“It’s a major misunderstanding that can be clarified,” Arndt said. “The issue was never, ‘Are we or are we not going to give a car to Michael Smart?’” Rather, the issue involved “internal communication” problems in his department. “It just happened to be Michael Smart’s car” that was the subject of miscommunication.
Sure seems like a lot of private car driving, when the CT Transit bus is often a perfectly fine way to get around town.
Where can the public obtain a mileage log, showing miles and business conducted, for all city employees?