FAIRFIELD, CT — As the administration of Fairfield First Selectman Bill Gerber investigates a past policy that gave severance and accrued vacation pay to former First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick and others, Kupchick said last week that she supports the review.
Additionally, Kupchick, now a Selectwoman, said she will return any funds from the policy if “received inappropriately.”
Kupchick made the claim in her personal newsletter that she periodically sends out to residents.
“In hindsight, I should have asked more questions,” Kupchick wrote. “After having time to review and learn more, I will work with the town to reimburse whatever funds I may have received inappropriately.
“I fully support a thorough and transparent investigation to uncover details about past practices and the original origins of this document and encourage the town’s HR department to update this policy along with all employee policies with a thorough review by the Town Attorney.”
Kupchick received more than $28,000 in pay, just over $11,000 of which was severance, and the remaining nearly $17,000 was unused vacation pay.
Others receiving payments were former Chief of Staff Jackie Bertolone (nearly $9,000 in severance and more than $5,500 in accrued vacation pay), and former Town Administrative Officer Tom Bremer (more than $25,000 in severance and close to $22,000 in vacation pay), Connecticut Examiner reported.
Last month, the Board of Finance questioned the payments, which came up when Gerber sought a budget transfer from the board to pay office salaries due to a shortfall created, in part, by the severance and vacation payments.
In her newsletter statement, Kupchick gave her side of what transpired:
In 2021, then HR Director Jim Haselkamp, approached me to sign an updated benefits policy for non-union personnel, designed to address challenges we were having in retaining and attracting talented department heads amid issues of salary compression caused by union longevity, meaning union employees were receiving higher increases more frequently causing their salaries to approach or surpass those of their non-union supervisors.
Part of the original policy from 2016 included language on severance, which remained unchanged in the 2021 amended version. The title of the document appears to have changed from “Benefits Summary for Non-Union Department Heads and Public Officials” to “Benefits Summary for Non-Union Department Heads and Public Elected Officials,” however that change was not part of the discussions.
After my election loss, HR Director Cathleen Simpson shared with me the benefits package, including 4 weeks’ severance pay ($11,400). At the time, I didn’t question the package’s consistency with prior practices for the First Selectpersons.
Patch reached out to Simpson for comment, but did not receive a reply. Gerber spokesperson Lisa Clair said that the administration does not have a comment.
“I’m very disappointed this situation happened,” Kupchick wrote. “I want Fairfield taxpayers to have confidence in our town government’s policies and ethics especially after our community continues to pay millions for the worst public corruption scandal in Fairfield’s history.
“I sincerely hope our residents know I would never do anything that would compromise our community, my integrity, or my family’s reputation.”