The Board of Selectmen voted 2-1, with Mr. Silvaggi as the dissenter, last Friday to reinstate Mr. Belden to the position just two days after he had resigned and the first selectman had said that he had received complaints about his performance from two department heads and members of the Board of Finance.
"We're going to make it work," Selectmen Jerry Murphy said after last week's special meeting, during which he indicated that Mr. Belden had stated subsequent to his resignation that he still wanted to work for the town.
In a brief interview at the town hall early this week, Mr. Belden, who had held a similar position in Middlebury before being appointed to the Brookfield position last fall, said he "is looking forward" to continuing work on the municipal budget, which will go to referendum later this month, and on other projects.
"This is unhealthy for the town," said finance board Chairman Ernesto Nepomuceno, who attended part of 54-minute executive session discussion last week regarding the possible reinstatement of Mr. Belden to the controller's position, which pays an annual salary of $90,000, about $17,000 more per year than what the first selectman is paid.
He accused Mr. Murphy and Selectman Joni Park of using Mr. Belden's resignation as a way "to make the first selectman look bad."
Mr. Murphy said in a phone interview this week that he strongly denies that charge.
Town Treasurer David Scribner, who also serves as the state representative from the 107th state House District, said Mr. Belden appears to be "very competent" and "ambitious," noting that, among other things, he has seen him working at the town hall on the weekend.
"I think that Mike Belden has demonstrated competency," finance board member Howard Lasser said. "He arrived at the beginning of the budget season, and I get the impression that he is getting his ducks in a row."
Mr. Murphy said that three other members of the finance board-Robert Belden, William Tinsley and Elio Petta-have told him that they have been pleased with the town controller's performance. He said that he had not spoken with Steve O'Reilly, the other member of the finance board.
"I think the expectations are very high, and I would urge people to demonstrate patience and tolerance," Mr. Scribner said regarding Mr. Belden's performance.
Mr. Murphy said that after learning of Mr. Belden's resignation he contacted him and obtained a copy of a letter that Mr. Silvaggi had presented to Mr. Belden April 22.
As he read the letter over the phone, he said that Mr. Silvaggi stated in the two-page letter that the town had decided to "terminate" Mr. Belden's "probationary employment."
Mr. Murphy said that Mr. Silvaggi did not have the right to do that, since it should be a decision that is made by all three members of the Board of Selectmen.
He said Mr. Belden opted to resign. "That is not an official resignation," he said. "That is the closest thing to water-boarding that you have in Brookfield."
The town controller's post was created in 1975 after Brookfield had a surge in population over the previous 15 years, which had elevated it from a rural town to a suburban town.
Raymond Bolek of Kent held the position from 1975 to 2002 and again from 2004 until early last year. Mr. Belden was hired late last year after Theresa Mitchell, a Brookfield resident, left to take an administrative position in the finance office at Cartus, a relocation services company in Danbury, where she had worked before taking the controller's position in February of last year.
Mr. Scribner said that the position includes several components, including working with the town treasurer, grants, and contracts and interacting with the municipal department heads. "It requires a lot of interpersonal skills," he said.
The town treasurer said that he has concerns about the turnover in the town controller's job, since it might send a negative signal to the bond rating agencies, which will be reviewing Brookfield's municipal finances later this year as the town prepares to do long-term financing for the recent $31.875 million renovation of Brookfield High School.
"What they have done is not in the best interests of the town," Mr. Nepomucneo said regarding the selectmen's decision. "I have concerns about his performance," he said. "The information we have received on the budget is inaccurate."
"The concerns are real, and we're going to take this one day at a time," Mr. Silvaggi said in a phone interview this week.
"I'm going to be closely monitoring his work," he said regarding Mr. Belden's performance.
"Probably," Mr. Silvaggi said regarding whether there should have been more communication among the three selectmen before he met with Mr. Belden April 22 and the controller subsequently decided to resign from the position.
"I don't think so," Mrs. Park said when asked if it was going to be difficult for Mr. Belden to overcome the obstacles that led to his resignation.
"I think part of the problem is the leadership in the town hall," Mr. Lasser said. "I don't think that Silvaggi is a good manager."
Mr. Murphy said that Mr. Belden recognizes that "he has some problems in the way he has tried to manage issues with people. I think that he can work that out. "However, it also is a two-way street, where people need to adjust to what he is trying to do," he said. "I think we need some time to give this a fair chance."
Mr. Murphy said he believes that Mr. Silvaggi could have taken steps to "counsel" Mr. Belden before the first selectman reached the point where he felt compelled to terminate the town controller's services last week.
"Maybe," Mr. Silvaggi said last Friday when asked whether interim steps could have been taken to address the issues before Mr. Belden submitted his resignation last week.