2
“Unofficial Opinion” on this matter
, Mr. Van Norden provided various possible reasons and/or justifications as to why the hiring of a number of these employees may not be considered in violation of the Municipal Code due to the
Mayor’s powers as granted by the City of Hartford
Charter or the vetting, appointing and approval processes for these employees. It is our understanding that Mr. Van Norden is in the process of writing and will be issuing a formal opinion on this matter in next day or so. The Internal Audit Department does not internally have the legal expertise, or the financial ability, to procure outside legal services, to verify or validate the propriety of Mr. Van Nor
den’s
arguments and opinions. That being said, since at least one of the retirees listed herein is employed in the Office of the Corporation Counsel, and to avoid any appearance of conflict, we recommend that the Court of Common Council consider utilizing outside legal counsel to address any other questions or concerns they have with this matter and the representations made by the Corporation Counsel in its formal opinion once it is issued. Further, we recommend that the Corporation Counsel and the Court of Common Council get together and mutually agree on an independent counsel selected by both parties together to render an independent opinion that would be binding upon all parties.
Also of note, we were informed by the Corporation Counsel’s Office that while a request was
made to review the legislation in question for form and legality, there is no evidence that it was actually reviewed or en
dorsed as to form and legality by the Corporation Counsel’s Office.
Ultimately, if it is found that there is no legal basis for exempting these individuals from the previously noted terms and conditions of the Municipal Code, then appropriate action should be taken to address this matter. This would include either enforcing the terms and conditions of the Municipal Code as stated or taking other appropriate action including, but not limited to, making required changes to the Municipal Code to allow for these and any other agreed upon exceptions. In addition, action should be taken to identify and address any other rehired City retirees not noted above that are deemed to be in violation of this section of the Municipal Code. Finally, procedures and controls should be developed and implemented to prevent this from occurring again in the future. If you have any questions regarding the above please let me know. cc: Internal Audit Commission Members City Council Members S. K. Borges, Chief Operating Officer P. Segarra, Mayor L. John Van Norden, Deputy Corporation Counsel