Dunn says, for now, h.r duties will be absorbed 'internally'

(This story was updated on Monday, January 15 at 7:20 p.m. to include comments from Selectman Tara Carr.)

By Scott Benjamin

BROOKFIELD – First Selectman Steve Dunn says he doesn’t plan to advertise for a replacement for former longtime Human Resources Director Fern Smenyak and that the town government will be “absorbing the roles internally.”

Smenyak, who was hired nearly 10 years ago by former First Selectman Bill Tinsley, was dismissed by Dunn on December 7, three days after he started his second tenure as first selectman. He previously served from 2015-2021.

Dunn has declined to publicly discuss his reasons for that decision.

Dunn and Other Selectman Bob Belden, who was his running mate last fall on the Democratic ticket, each said at the January 8 Board of Selectmen’s meeting that it is bad policy to discuss personnel issues publicly.

At the January 8 meeting of the Board of Selectmen, Other Selectman Tara Carr said that, “Town employees want to know, residents want to know” why Dunn removed Smenyak from her position.

She added that the decision appeared to be “very politically motivated.” Dunn denied that charge.

During public comment at that meeting, Smenyak criticized Dunn, saying that his action represented “retaliation.” Reports have indicated that Dunn had conflicts with some municipal employees regarding pension arrangements that he sought near the end of his previous tenure as first selectman. In her comments, Smenyak added that she had following the laws of the town.

During the 2023 municipal campaign on multiple occasions Dunn said he did nothing wrong in seeking the pension.

Residents and town employees spoke during public comment against Dunn’s decision and a petition has circulated to reinstate Smenyak.

Economic Development Commission Chairman Jim Fisher said it created a “bad smell” at the start of Dunn’s second tenure as the chief elected municipal official. He said the action was “uncalled for” and an “embarrassment.”

Would it have been productive for the selectmen to discuss it in executive session?

In an interview with Patch.com, Dunn said, “There was a possibility that could have happened at the Board of Selectmen’s meeting. The Board of Selectmen did not make a motion to do that. I’m going to leave it at that.”

Could an executive session be held in the future?

“I don’t think there are any plans to do that right now,” Dunn said.

He said that, at least for now, he doesn’t anticipate that the town will advertise to find a successor for Smenyak.

“At this point in time we have no plans to replace the position,” Dunn commented. “We’re looking at absorbing the roles of the director of human resources internally, and we’ll see where that goes.”

He added, “I’m taking over part of that role. Lisa Delp, the assistant, is taking over part of the role. She is the interim human resources director. So we’re going to see how that works and move forward from there.”

Dunn said that he envisions keeping that interim arrangement for “four to six months. We’re going to look at it and see how it is working. Are we meeting all the needs of all the employees in the town. If that is the case, we’re in good shape. If not, then we’ll reconsider and make some changes.”

He said the town might have to use outside consultants on “special projects.”

Carr, a Republican, who defeated Dunn, a Democrat, in the 2021 municipal election and then lost to him last November, stated in an e-mail interview with Patch.com, "Regarding Mr. Dunn’s suggestion that he would absorb HR Director responsibilities: the people of this town elect a First Selectman to carry out the many duties associated with that position, not to carry out staff functions for which there is already coverage. If Mr. Dunn was an expert in HR matters, he would not have tried to scam a pension from the town when he left office two years ago. Brookfield town employees do not deserve to have someone with such a poor grasp of HR rules, like pension eligibility, making decisions that affect their conditions of employment or otherwise."

During the 2023 campaign, Dunn said in an interview with Patch.com and on a Brookfield Democratic Town Committee podcast that he did nothing wrong regarding his pension.

Dunn said that the changes in the Human Resources Department would save the town a small amount of money, but added, “That is not a driver on this. Savings is never a driver when it comes to personnel.”

Carr wrote, "Regarding the position of town HR Director: during my tenure as First Selectwoman, the town Finance Director [Marcia Marien] suggested eliminating the HR position (along with the IT Director and Finance Director duties) in order to merge with the BoE, but it died as only a suggestion as she had done no real analysis to support it and that it would cost more for the town. The idea of combining HR for the BOE and the town under one Director, if that is the thought, would have needed a strong and viable business case to proceed."

Carr added, "Currently the BOE HR Director position is vacant, so Ms. Smenyak would have been the obvious person who understands all aspects of HR on both the town and BOE sides, with all of the union considerations and retirements processing as well, to assume that role, if that is the direction Mr. Dunn is heading. The idea of any merge still does not warrant a firing of Ms. Smenyak, rather [that] would have been a promotion and she would have been the most qualified person for that role."

As for making Delp the human resources director, Carr stated, "Ms. Delp has been an outstanding employee but has no where near the breadth of experience that Ms. Smenyak possesses. Ms. Delp has been very good at what she does, but based on Mr. Dunn’s comments that he is sharing HR duties with her, [she] is now forced into a position where her boss, who is not an HR specialist, can exert a lot of influence over her decision making. I also would hope that Mr. Dunn is compensating Ms. Delp appropriately since she was already underpaid compared to other towns for the tremendous amount of work she was performing together with Ms. Smenyak. This past fall the BoS recently approved updated job descriptions. I would like to see the new job description for Ms. Delp."

Dunn said, “I have 40 years of running businesses and having human resources people working for me. I think I have enough experience to understand what the roles are and what needs to be done."

Has Dunn’s decision damaged morale among town employees?

He said that he sent a note to the town employees that included a “thanks” to Ms. Smenyak for her service.

“I understand that people can get nervous,” Dunn said. “I think this is something that is short term. Whenever you make a change in your staffing, people get concerned. I’ve sent out a letter to our employees that I understand their concerns.”

He added, “We’re going to move forward. We have a great team and we’re going to keep working together. I think over time that [concern] goes away.”

“We have only made changes to personnel twice [during his more than six years as first selectman, 2015-2021 and 2023-persent],” Dunn said. “When you make a change, you don’t do it lightly. You consider it very carefully. Our town hall employees are one of the best groups of employees that I’ve ever worked with. So I don’t anticipate any other changes.”

On another topic, he said the municipal Capital Planning Committee, which was recently re-established by the selectmen, will probably be upgraded to permanent status in the near future.

He said Brianna Ruocco is serving as its chairman and initial steps have begun on whether to build a new police headquarters or expand the current facility on Silvermine Road. The ad-hoc committee also is considering the remodeling of Center Elementary School on Route 133 into a community center.

Dunn said the development of the proposals will be gradual.

He said it was, “Three years to go from ‘thinking about it’ to getting to a referendum” on the $78.1 million Candlewood Lake Elementary School (CLES), which was approved by voters in February 2019.

After more than a year of study, an ad-hoc committee submitted a report in 2021 on what residents indicated they wanted to do with Center Elementary School, which eventually closed last year with the opening of the CLES.

Dunn said the Capital Planning Committee would further develop that information into a structural plan that will be sent to a design team.

“[Those steps] will probably take two to three years,” he said.

Dunn indicated that the town faces “a debt bubble” over the next two years as it completes bond payments for the renovations to Brookfield High School that were approved at referendum in 2003 and starts making payments on CLES.

“We have set money aside over the recent years to ease that transition,” he said.

Dunn remarked that Brookfield has a very healthy fiscal portfolio. The town has an AAA bond rating, the highest possible. The fund balance is above 16 percent, perhaps the highest it has been in the town’s 236-year history. He said that eight years ago the fund balance was at a meager five percent.

Dunn commented that the pensions for the municipal employees are 102 percent funded. He has said that anything above 80 percent is considered excellent.

Resources:

Interview with Steve Dunn, Patch.com, Saturday, January 13, 2024.

E-mail interview with Tara Carr, Patch.com,. Monday, January 15, 2024.

https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/opposition-voiced-dunns-decision-dismiss-human-resources-head

https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/dunn-says-capital-projects-will-be-priority

https://patch.com/connecticut/...