Rotondo resigns

WINSTED — After serving three years as the town’s Public Works Director, James Rotondo submitted his resignation to the town on Friday, Feb. 15.His resignation letter was made available by Town Manager Dale Martin on Tuesday, Feb. 26.According to the letter, Rotondo’s last day of work will be on Monday, April 15.“This was a difficult decision to make, but I do think it is the right one for me and my family,” Rotondo wrote in the letter. “I have found the current climate of financial uncertainty, unrelenting divisiveness and frequent turnover in the town manager’s office to be discouraging.”Rotondo went on to cite other reasons for his resignation, including not having a job performance review in three years, recurring discussions of potential employee furloughs along with possible forfeiture of family medical benefits and privatization of the Public Works Department.“I found that opportunities were available that were more in line with my personal and professional goals,” Rotondo said. “I have been offered and have accepted a position that provides opportunities for personal accomplishment, professional growth and financial stability. The salary and benefits provided in this new position are much more in line with my level of experience in the current marketplace.”Rotondo did not say where he has been hired in the letter.“As a longtime resident, I relished the opportunity to lead the department and hopefully make improvements which would improve the quality of life,” Rotondo said. “While I enjoyed using my technical skills, it was often frustrating that my plans to rebuild and properly maintain infrastructure were never funded or implemented. I regret the taxpayers of Winchester never got to see tangible results from these efforts.”At a Board of Selectmen’s meeting on Jan. 22, Rotondo presented a proposed budget for the Department of Public Works.In his presentation, he painted a grim picture of the conditions of the town’s infrastructure and the state of the department’s equipment.“Don’t take this the wrong way because I’m not being critical of anyone or anything except for the fact that we as a team should get together and say that we have to change the way we do things here,” Rotondo said at the meeting. “Basically, I have rated all of the town’s infrastructure as poor. We have not made any headway on this. By not making any headway we are losing ground because we have infrastructure that still can be salvaged but is slipping away from us. It will cost us a lot more money to reclaim it to bring it back to where it should be.”When contacted by the Winsted Journal, Rotondo said he had no further comment.Martin said he would be working with the town’s Civil Service Commission in order to fill the vacant position after Rotondo’s resignation takes effect.