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Wednesday, January 27, 2016

BURGOS... GONE

Well, that didn't take long.


MAYOR BRONIN ANNOUNCES DEPARTURE OF HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR

 

Deputy Director Debra Carabillo to Serve as Interim Director

 

— NEWS AND COMMUNITY STATEMENT—

 

(Jan 27, 2016) Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin today announced that he has reluctantly accepted the resignation of Henry Burgos, Director of Human Resources and Labor Relations for the City of Hartford. Mr. Burgos, who began working for the city in 2013, will depart from his position effective January 27.

 

“I have been impressed with Henry’s dedication to the people of Hartford thorough his management of all aspects of the City’s Human Resources Department, and I’m sorry to see him leave City Hall,” Mayor Bronin said. “Under Henry’s tenure, the City saw drastic modernization of our onboarding and applicant tracking and testing services. He has been an advisor and an invaluable resource during this transition period, and his departure is a loss for City Hall.”

 

Mr. Burgos stated, “It was a pleasure to serve Connecticut’s Capital City. My tenure as director was the most rewarding experience of my career. I’m grateful for this opportunity to serve the citizens of Hartford and I look forward to pursuing personal and professional goals in the near future.”

 

As Director of Human Resources and Labor Relations, Mr. Burgos has been responsible for directing every aspect of the City’s Human Resources Department, including, but not limited to, labor relations, recruitment, employee relations, employee benefits and contract negations. As a member of the senior management team, Henry played a key role in the City’s budget development process and was a member of the Personnel and Finance Committee, where among other things, he engaged in the monitoring of the City’s budget. 

 

Mayor Bronin has appointed Debra Carabillo, Assistant Director of Human Resources, to serve as Acting Director of Human Resources while a search for a permanent replacement in underway.

 

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HPD IMPERSONATOR UPDATE: LUIS DaCUNHA ARREST PHOTO RELEASED





To read the original posting and read the full story, click here  http://wethepeoplehartford.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-hpd-you-tube-video-real-story.html

IS BURGOS OUT?

According to several sources familiar with Hartford City Hall, embattled Human Resources Director Henry Burgos is expected to resign today.

No confirmation is readily available from the Bronin Administration, but standby for more details
.
Search the blog archives  for more information on Burgos's tenure. Despite Burgos's comments that he was "protected" and couldn't be let go, that apparently may not be the case

BRADY'S RUN ABOUT TO END ( AND I DON'T MEAN TOM BRADY)

According to sources, Hartford's Interim Fire Chief's tenure will probably be one of the shortest in Hartford history.

Scott Brady named acting interim Chief  took over the reigns approximately 2 weeks ago after former Chief Carlos Huertas was shown the door at the start of a new Mayoral term began.

Brady's appointment was somewhat unusual due to the fact that Brady, according to numerous sources within HFD, was campaigning heavily for the new Mayor's opponent Pedro Segarra.  Brady , again according to sources, was visiting firehouses and speaking with firefighters advising them not to support Bronin, that Segarra was much more favorable to their upcoming contract negotiations. Apparently supporting Segarra was to benefit the firefighters Union.

In the end, apparently, everything works out for the best . Brady is not on the short list to be named as Assistant Chief under the incoming new Chief Reginald Freeman. At least one of the Assistant spots has been filled by HFD retiree Frank Costello. Costello is reported to be starting next Monday as Assistant Chief , at the same time Freeman takes over. Costello retired as a Deputy Chief of Training  for the fire Department.

The only fly in the ointment is a Hartford Ordinance that took effect January1, 2016. Any new hire or new appointment  that is a retiree will have their salary capped at the amount of the annual base salary minus the amount of their pension benefit, provided however that the annual compensation shall not be less than 50% of the annual base salary.

So much for double dipping being profitable anymore.

Here is the ordinance and its wording below. The pertinent part is on page 2, highlighted.(I guess Ken Kennedy did do at least one thing worthwhile in 14 years)

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

GOOD NEWS FROM THE HARTFORD FIRE DEPARTMENT

Word today is that Jason Martinez, the Hartford Firefighter who received severe burns in a structure fire over a year ago, has recovered enough from his injuries to return to work.

Martinez is undergoing refresher training classes today and will report back to his firehouse for his shift at 5:00PM today .

Best of Luck Jason on your continued recovery and may you and all of Hartford's first responders stay safe.

Monday, January 25, 2016

FINALLY , A PASSING GRADE FOR HARTFORD'S PLOWING EFFORTS

Hartford has traditionally been a snowplowing disaster.. It was so bad that during a Mayoral debate last summer , former Mayor Pedro Segarra blamed Hartford's dismal efforts on our suburban neighbors coming into Hartford and sweeping snow off their cars, blocking Hartford's streets.

Now I know Saturday's storm was small by many standards, but there was  so much different in the DPW efforts to clear Hartford's streets. I usually drive around once the snow stops to see what is going on in the City. I was pleasantly surprised by the condition of every street I drove down Sunday.

One of the big barometers I gauge by is how the streets are open. Typically, the streets are rarely plowed "curb to curb" meaning that the right lanes are usually left with a pile of snow taking up half of the travel lane Farmington Avenue is usually choked down to one open lane in each direction, bringing rush hour traffic to an impassable mess. Sunday morning the street  was open wide and the curbs were visible on  each side
Farmington Avenue in front of Saint Joseph's Cathedral, plowed curb to curb
 
New Park Avenue and just about every other street I drove down was plowed well and passable. For the first time I can recall, I couldn't tell where Hartford ended and West Hartford began. Usually I can tell when I have crossed into west Hartford because the plowing of their streets are pristine
New Park Avenue near Park Street looking South,. you can actually see the road
 
Therre just seemed to be a lot more co-ordination this time in the plowing efforts. It was comical though the numerous instructions being given to plow drivers over the DPW radio to plow Elm Street and be sure to put "plenty of material" down so that when the Mayor would look out the window of his home, he would see the results of their efforts. It might surprise them to know that I doubt the Mayor was sitting at home monitoring their efforts I think he was most likely out viewing their efforts first hand from every corner of the City. Its called management
 
I hope these efforts were not a one time occurrence and the next storm will show we do know how to do it right. We all have frequently bashed the DPW efforts over snow removal, but I think it is also important to let them know we appreciate it when they do it right.