Community Corner

Mayor Appoints New EMS Head Amid Pending Lawsuit Against Town

Town announces new appointment as litigation brought on by a former Stratford EMS director continues to be deliberated in court.

Four months after a judge ruled Stratford violated its town charter in hiring a new EMS director in 2011 and one month after it was made public that that director would be leaving for a job elsewhere, the town this week announced the hiring of a new head of Stratford EMS.

"Mayor John A. Harkins has appointed Michael Loiz director of Stratford EMS," a statement from the mayor’s office, released on Monday, reads. "Loiz fills the vacancy created by the recent departure of Phil Onofrio."

The announcement of Onofrio's departure last month came amid a lawsuit filed against the town by former Stratford EMS head Donna Best, who alleges that Onofrio's appointment as the new director in March 2011 violated a town law limiting the position to one individual.

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In her testimony, Best, who had been the EMS head for the 11 years prior, said that only after Onofrio took her job was she demoted to a lesser role.

State Superior Court Judge Howard Owens sided with Best in that regard and ruled in a December 2012 decision that the town did in fact violate its charter when the mayor appointed Onofrio as the head. Owens called for the removal of Onofrio as department head and further decreed that Best presented "a solid foundation of evidence showing that she is the director."

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"The charter defines the position a singularity," Owens wrote in his 10-page ruling. "It does not allow for a second director to be created."

"We respectfully disagree with the court's ruling," Harkins said at the time, adding that the town plans to appeal.

In his memorandum, Owens provided testimony from the town's human resources director Ronald Ing:

"Ronald Ing testified without contradiction that as soon as Onofrio assumed the office of director, Onofrio took complete operational control of the organization and reduced Best to a subordinate role," he wrote. "Ing also testified that Onofrio took over position as director in March 2011 without any authorization from the Town Council to pay for his salary."

In response to this particular section of the ruling, Councilman Matt Catalano, a Republican from the Third District, wrote in the comments section of this article:

"I made it very clear when this hire was taking place that it was in violation of the charter. I am clearly on record with that," Catalano wrote. "The town attorney issued an opinion at the time that said it was in the mayor's purview to do just what he did. I still believe it's a charter violation and, it seems, the judge in this case agreed with me."

According to a report in the Connecticut Post, Onofrio was hired at about $100,000 a year, whereas Best was paid $82,000 annually.

Before Loiz's appointment was announced this week, Democratic mayoral hopeful Joe Paul wrote in a blog post on Stratford Patch:

"Mr. Onofrio was a good man who may have done Stratford a favor by resigning. This is an opportunity to resolve a messy matter by doing what should have been done in the first place: follow the town charter provisions that do not allow a mayor to create and hire for new positions without budget approval from the Town Council."

Paul continued, "I sincerely hope the mayor is not planning to recruit and hire another person into a position that was neither budgeted for nor approved by the Council, and that was ruled invalid by the State Superior Court."

The release from the mayor's office does not mention any ongoing litigation or the reasons for Onofrio's departure but rather focuses on what Loiz will be bringing to the department:

Loiz has an extensive background in managing emergency services, and is a nationally-certified medical dispatch instructor. Harkins said Loiz is poised to build on all of the positive changes made at Stratford EMS during the last two years.

"Stratford EMS has been turned into a high-level emergency response service for the residents of Stratford. The organization has seen tremendous growth in volunteer participation and in the number of calls responded to by SEMS," Harkins said in the statement. "Mike Loiz is the right person to continue building on the positive momentum generated over the last several months."

Loiz comes to Stratford after working as the Director of Operations at Hunter Ambulance Service in Meriden, Conn. In that role, Loiz was responsible for oversight of daily operations, managing a fleet of 80 vehicles and overseeing a $15 million budget.


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