‘If You Want To Manage, You Run for First Selectman’: Moynihan Pushes Back on Selectmen’s Request Regarding Part-Timers

For the third straight meeting, New Canaan’s highest elected official on Tuesday squared off with fellow members of the Board of Selectmen regarding part-time municipal employees.

Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams have said that the Board has an established practice of approving all hires for the town, including those who work part-time on a seasonal or permanent basis. The issue arose when a permanent part-time hire at Waveny House recently was discussed at a Town Council meeting but not before the selectmen.

First Selectman Kevin Moynihan responded by saying that such oversight is not the Board’s job, and obtained an opinion from a lawyer in the town attorney’s firm backing up that position.

During this week’s regular selectmen meeting, Corbet said she’d reviewed the lawyer’s opinion letter asserting that “the temporary employees, the seasonal employees, the budgeted part-time employees don’t typically come to the Board of Selectmen.”

“I thought it did, so I did some research and in fact I just type in ‘part-time employees’ and they all came up, so we have in fact quite a history of a process as I just further reminded myself, substantially, including every part-time employee and of course there might be one or two that haven’t come before us so I’m going to request that again,” she said.

Corbet added, “It actually has been a practice that we’ve been following, with the exception of the most current year. So I’d like it to be reinstated. I don’t think it’s going to take a lot of time and effort. It’s a practice and a process that we’ve had in place for a number of years and just to be sure that we have done that process, I’m going to give a pass to the seasonal employees this year. But let’s bring it back again for next year and let’s just, for sure, for part-time employees that we’ve recently hired or for however long, if they have not been approved by the Board of Selectmen, then bring it to the Board of Selectmen, ideally, the next meeting which is in December. So again I’ll ask for that information and hopefully we can bring it forward and we can continue the process which is in our ordinances in terms of the fact that the Board of Selectmen does have the ultimate authority to approve hires. So, [I’ve] done research.”

“I’m going to ask again that we get the list of employees that have not been approved by the Board of Selectmen,” Corbet said. “I know there’s one at least. And maybe there are others. And let’s focus on that so we can get it done for the calendar year.”

Williams said, “Kevin, are you willing to provide that information as the CEO of the town?”

Moynihan responded: “No. This is a time for comment. We don’t have anything on the agenda on this. I would again recommend you talk to the town attorney to understand your role. You don’t co-manage. If you want to manage, you run for first selectman. So I suggest you talk to the town attorney.”

The discussion took place during a portion of the meeting set aside for general matters before the town.

This exchange followed:

Corbet: We are not co-managing. We are approving—again, as we have done historically. And I think it’s good practice. We want to make sure that the Board of Selectmen, no matter who serves on the Board of Selectmen going forward, understands their role and this is one of them. 

Williams: And the town attorney reports to the Board of Selectmen, or you?

Moynihan: Talk to the town attorney.

Corbet: I will.

Moynihan: Any further comment?

Williams: I will, too.

Corbet noted that the selectmen used to approve the seasonal hires because former Recreation Director Steve Benko would “put together a memo that listed all of the seasonal employees around March of each year.”

“Same thing for the temporary employees for the Town Clerk’s office,” she said. “We had one that came up not too long ago for absentee ballots.”

Williams said he agreed with Corbet.

“As we spoke two weeks ago, this is something we have done in the past,” he said.

The next Board of Selectmen meeting is scheduled for Dec. 13.