DPW Director, gone. MHIS Director ,gone. Health Director, gone. HR Director, gone. Police Chief, going. And now add to the list, Daryl Hill, the Finance Director who resigned today effective November 4, 2017.
It is probably not much of a resume builder for Hill to be the Finance Director or Chief Financial Officer of a City about to declare Bankruptcy. But then again, not much of what Hill has done in Hartford would bolster a resume. The baseball stadium and the debacle of the Dillon Stadium fraud were two of Hill's claims to fame in our City.
I think Hill's departure was inevitable based upon calls I have been receiving from City Hall insiders who have been eyewitnesses, or maybe "ear witness's" to the frequent raised voices and shouting matches coming from the area of the Mayor's Office and the COO's Office on the second floor of Hartford City Hall.
(Helpful hint to the King- City Hall is like a canyon and those voices echo throughout the building quite clearly)
I will give the King as pass on the well deserved retirement of Chief Rovella, Chief Rovella has served the people of Hartford and has proven to have vision as well as creativity to be able to still operate under such adverse conditions as he has been placed under during his tenure, and still produce impressive results.
I am still concerned about our Fire Chief and the pressure being placed on him by the King to manage two very difficult Departments after the Public Works Director quit last year. Chief Freeman was doing a very good job of returning the Hartford Fire Department back to order before his efforts were diluted when he took over DPW as the acting Director.
And even though King Luke will surely try to put a positive spin on these departures, it does not bode well for the stability of his Administration during these difficult times. How do you explain not having a permanent HR Director and even the acting interim HR Director calls it quits during Police contract negotiations? And departing when there is a need to hire over 100 firefighters and approaching 125 or more Police Officers.
Luckily the guillotine is gone, or City Hall would be a much messier place to work than it already is.


