Council debate over appointment process for new city clerk and transition-team staffing draws procedural concerns

During the Jan. 14 meeting Alderman Santiago raised procedural concerns about the appointment of a new city clerk and asked the council to explain the process by which 'Miss Dandro' was appointed, expressing concern for meeting integrity and transparency.

The presiding officer initially ruled the matter out of order because it was not on the agenda, but Alderman Santiago recast the issue as a point of privilege to press for an explanation. The exchange included a member asserting that state statute might be implicated, though the chair directed the meeting to proceed.

Separately, council discussion about a council-administrative position and the transition team elicited questions about whether the role had been a union position, whether the union released it, and whether transition-team members were paid. Staff and leaders said the position would be posted through civil service and that the transition team was unpaid and volunteer-based. Council members asked for the formal posting, job-description changes and the charter-required process to be followed.

Petitions read by the clerk included requests for clarification regarding the town-clerk appointment and other personnel and job-posting questions; these were referred to human resources or the mayor's office as appropriate.

No formal disciplinary or statutory findings were made at the meeting; councilors requested further documentation and recommended that human resources and the mayor's office respond to the referred petitions.