It boggled my mind when Luke Bronin tapped Hartford's Fire Chief Reginald Freeman to also fill in as Hartford's DPW Director to fill a vacancy almost two years ago.
Freeman came in to restore order to a troubled Hartford Fire Department that had been rocked by scandals, bad behavior and negative publicity. By most accounts I think he has held up his end of the bargain.
It made no sense to me that Mayor Bronin would then dilute Freeman's efforts by asking him to run a Department that probably had more than enough of its own problems at DPW. And even though Freeman was doing double the work to bail out his boss, Reggie\s paycheck apparently didn't reflect his double duty.
It is also confusing as to why we pay high priced salaries for "Deputy Directors" if those Deputies can't be called upon to run the Department short term when needed. Or are the Deputy slots just a way of hiding away friends you want to reward with a City paycheck and great benefits?
There is no way a position such as the Director of Public Works should be left open for two years.
There is also no reason that the Hartford Fire Chief should be expected to fill in for both slots for two years or longer.
Reggie Freeman has shown that he is more than capable to manage multiple, demanding tasks, and he has been a shining star for the people of Hartford. Maybe shining a little too bright for an Administration that seems to have been having trouble getting any light out from under its own self imposed bushel basket.
Reggie Freeman needs to return to his FULL TIME role as Hartford's Fire Chief and continue to do what he is best at and Luke Bronin needs to concentrate on an finally building Administration that is not constantly losing people. Our current Mayor seems to be unable to find and keep qualified people.
Bronin's turnover at Hartford City Hall would probably rival that of the Trump White House.