Danbury firefighter says ordinance contains scrivener's error; asks council to restore 'surviving spouse' language

Christopher Daley, a Danbury firefighter and president of the Danbury Professional Firefighters union, told the council that a recent revision to the city's pension ordinance accidentally removed updated, gender-neutral wording for survivor benefits.

"Whoever entered it into what you as a council voted for, they took out the entire section about widows, but never added in the sentence about surviving spouses," Daley said, calling the change a "scrivener's error." He said the intent during negotiations was to replace "widow" with "surviving spouse" to reflect that the department has had female firefighters since 1987.

The item under consideration is an amendment to section 32-75 of the Danbury Code of Ordinances, titled "payments to surviving spouse, surviving children, and dependents." Daley told the council the correction would not change benefits but only update language to match the negotiated agreement.

Peter Bizaid, the council president who chaired the hearing, did not take a vote on the item and told speakers the council will consider the change at the next regular meeting. The public hearing format included no staff responses during the session; Bizaid said the council's role at this meeting was to receive comment.

The council did not debate the merits of the draft ordinance during the hearing; Daley asked that anyone with questions contact him or Councilman Tomchick. The council is expected to place the revised ordinance on the next meeting agenda for potential formal action.