Norwich City Council tables job offer and Norwich mayor retracts resignation
Norwich Mayor Shawn Sastri withdrew his resignation from office Tuesday after is became apparent he would not be appointed as the city's new youth director, with the common council delaying a final decision for the job. (Photo by Sarah Giglio)
NORWICH – At the Norwich Common Council meeting Tuesday, Mayor Shawn Sastri offered his resignation hoping that he would be appointed as the city's new youth bureau director.
However, following an executive session lasting 35 minutes, the council returned and voted to postpone the appointment instead, which prompted the mayor to retract his offer of resignation.
In order to accept the new position with the city Sastri will have to step down from elected office, officials explained.
The council went into an an executive session without Sastri and then emerged to publicly vote on delaying the decision in the last three minutes of the Tuesday's meeting.
Sastri said he was surprised by the decision but also prepared for the council to decide either way. He remains an applicant for the job of youth bureau director.
“There are always those possibilities, obviously, nothing is a 100 percent,” Sastri said Wednesday morning.
Asked why the board had decided to delay the issue, Sastri said he did not ask and did not know.
The mayor guessed the board was worried about public perception.
“I think they wanted to be as transparent as possible and are taking an extra precaution to make sure the public is informed. I don't think they want it viewed as a scandal,” said Sastri. “We did handle it properly.”
Last week, Sastri said his resignation would likely take effect on July 18 and that his position as youth bureau director would begin the next day.
With only a few months left in his two-year term, Sastri said he knew the youth position was opening up and said he didn't want to miss the opportunity.
He said he enjoyed working with kids and current Youth Bureau Director Bob Mason had inspired him. Sastri also recused himself from the hiring process.
Sastri said his current salary as mayor is around $16,000. According to the proposal, the Youth Bureau Director salary is about $17,538.
Common Council President Robert Jeffrey declined to answer questions about the postponement, saying the council had agreed to make a public announcement about the issue sometime Wednesday.
“We are going to release a statement,” said Jeffrey. He confirmed the mayor's resignation had been withdrawn and he was still being considered for the position, but no final decision has yet been made by the board.
Ward 1 Alderman Matthew E. Caldwell said, “We know it's a controversial issue. We are working on a press release that will provide a lot more detail.”
“We have great respect for public opinion and the city,” said Caldwell. “I am looking forward to providing more information to the public, and I look forward to sharing that information about the process with the public.”
The board hopes to release that information sometime soon.
"I just felt that I was really interested in the position and I wasn't sure if that position would still be available at the end of the year," said Sastri. "I just felt like it was a better fit for me."
Sastri talked briefly about his experiences as mayor when he first announced his pending resignation earlier this week, saying that he had run for office in hopes of making a larger impact but found the processes of changing government slow.
“Government makes slow decisions. I thought I would be able to get more things to completion. My advice to anyone taking office: Be as open-minded as possible and as open with the public as possible. Build trust with people.”
He noted the pandemic had changed many things and added complications to making improvements.
Prior to Tuesday's meeting, Ward Two Alderman and mayoral candidate Brian Doliver said he was supportive of Sastri's decision.
"It's one of those things that, with anyone, when you're not happy with the position you're in, then he probably recognized that and he probably thought he was best suited for the bureau position," said Doliver. "I do support his decision."
Mayoral candidate John Quattrocchi also supported Sastri's decision, and believes the city will be in good hands until the election is over.
"I support this decision, whatever is best for him and his family at this time, whatever he's looking to achieve," said Quattrocchi. "I think there's some good council members that are in place right now, that will make sure the city runs smoothly until the time of the election."
Read more about this story as it develops in upcoming editions of The Evening Sun.
(Robert Jeffrey is a part-time sport contributor of the Evening Sun. Reporter Sarah Giglio also contributed to this story.)
However, following an executive session lasting 35 minutes, the council returned and voted to postpone the appointment instead, which prompted the mayor to retract his offer of resignation.
In order to accept the new position with the city Sastri will have to step down from elected office, officials explained.
The council went into an an executive session without Sastri and then emerged to publicly vote on delaying the decision in the last three minutes of the Tuesday's meeting.
Sastri said he was surprised by the decision but also prepared for the council to decide either way. He remains an applicant for the job of youth bureau director.
“There are always those possibilities, obviously, nothing is a 100 percent,” Sastri said Wednesday morning.
Asked why the board had decided to delay the issue, Sastri said he did not ask and did not know.
The mayor guessed the board was worried about public perception.
“I think they wanted to be as transparent as possible and are taking an extra precaution to make sure the public is informed. I don't think they want it viewed as a scandal,” said Sastri. “We did handle it properly.”
Last week, Sastri said his resignation would likely take effect on July 18 and that his position as youth bureau director would begin the next day.
With only a few months left in his two-year term, Sastri said he knew the youth position was opening up and said he didn't want to miss the opportunity.
He said he enjoyed working with kids and current Youth Bureau Director Bob Mason had inspired him. Sastri also recused himself from the hiring process.
Sastri said his current salary as mayor is around $16,000. According to the proposal, the Youth Bureau Director salary is about $17,538.
Common Council President Robert Jeffrey declined to answer questions about the postponement, saying the council had agreed to make a public announcement about the issue sometime Wednesday.
“We are going to release a statement,” said Jeffrey. He confirmed the mayor's resignation had been withdrawn and he was still being considered for the position, but no final decision has yet been made by the board.
Ward 1 Alderman Matthew E. Caldwell said, “We know it's a controversial issue. We are working on a press release that will provide a lot more detail.”
“We have great respect for public opinion and the city,” said Caldwell. “I am looking forward to providing more information to the public, and I look forward to sharing that information about the process with the public.”
The board hopes to release that information sometime soon.
"I just felt that I was really interested in the position and I wasn't sure if that position would still be available at the end of the year," said Sastri. "I just felt like it was a better fit for me."
Sastri talked briefly about his experiences as mayor when he first announced his pending resignation earlier this week, saying that he had run for office in hopes of making a larger impact but found the processes of changing government slow.
“Government makes slow decisions. I thought I would be able to get more things to completion. My advice to anyone taking office: Be as open-minded as possible and as open with the public as possible. Build trust with people.”
He noted the pandemic had changed many things and added complications to making improvements.
Prior to Tuesday's meeting, Ward Two Alderman and mayoral candidate Brian Doliver said he was supportive of Sastri's decision.
"It's one of those things that, with anyone, when you're not happy with the position you're in, then he probably recognized that and he probably thought he was best suited for the bureau position," said Doliver. "I do support his decision."
Mayoral candidate John Quattrocchi also supported Sastri's decision, and believes the city will be in good hands until the election is over.
"I support this decision, whatever is best for him and his family at this time, whatever he's looking to achieve," said Quattrocchi. "I think there's some good council members that are in place right now, that will make sure the city runs smoothly until the time of the election."
Read more about this story as it develops in upcoming editions of The Evening Sun.
(Robert Jeffrey is a part-time sport contributor of the Evening Sun. Reporter Sarah Giglio also contributed to this story.)
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