When members of a town redevelopment board in Connecticut met for an update from its executive director, he didn’t show up.
Where, they wondered, was Brian Bidolli, who runs the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency.
Oh, funny you should ask, replied Bidolli’s assistant, Stephen Ivan, the agency’s director of housing and capital projects.
Ivan nonchalantly informed the board that Bidolli was out of the country – studying for a PhD in Germany, according to Sophie Bellwoar, intern for InsideInvestigator.org.
“He has been out for about a year now,” Ivan said, insisting that the absence had not hindered agency functions.
“I don’t have an exact return date, but he is actively working, and we haven’t had any cease-up function because of it,” Ivan added. “I just get to fill in sometimes instead of him when it’s a time difference.”
Bidolli said he has continued “in-person and remote engagement as needed to support agency operations and responsibilities,” InsideInvestigator said.
Although the board raised questions about Bidolli “working” from Germany, neither Connecticut law, nor the city charter prohibits it, according to the Norwalk Hour newspaper.
Bidolli didn’t respond to additional questions regarding his work arrangements, including whether he planned to return to Germany in the near future, The Hour.com’s Shaniece Holmes-Brown, staff writer, reported.
Connecticut A State Of Mind – Especially For A Gov’t Worker Who’s Been Phoning It In For A Year From Germany
By Ted Cohen
