BLOOMFIELD - A group of residents has sued Bloomfield, alleging that the town manager is in violation of the town charter.
The lawsuit, filed by a group of residents that includes Bloomfield housing authority chair Robert Berman, says that the current town manager, Alvin Schwapp Jr., is violating the town's residency requirements. The lawsuit seeks to remove Schwapp from the position.
"At the time of his appointment and continuing to the present, Mr. Schwapp was a resident of the town of Simsbury, Connecticut, and has no bona fide residency in the town of Bloomfield," the lawsuit says.
Requests for comments from Schwapp, Mayor Anthony Harrington and Bloomfield's town attorney weren't immediately returned on Wednesday.
Schwapp was one of the final four candidates for the position in 2024 when he was hired by the Town Council on a four-year contract with a salary of $187,000 a year.
Bloomfield's town charter, which is cited in the lawsuit, states that the town manager doesn't need to be a resident of Bloomfield when appointed, "but the town manager shall reside in the town during his or her tenure in office."
The lawsuit also notes that the mayor's contract acknowledges the residency requirements, saying it was added to the town charter over 70 years ago "to ensure that the town manager, who wields a significant amount of power and influence within the town, be a resident of the town which he or she seeks to manage" and that the requirement is "intended to ensure that the town manager remain present in and connected with the community... and better incentivized to meaningfully improve the town."
The lawsuit notes that only one Town Council member, Shamar Mahon, voted against Schwapp's appointment.
Last year, a lawsuit naming Schwapp and other town officials was filed against Bloomfield claiming that voters were misled about the budget. A judge dismissed that lawsuit, which sought a new referendum, saying that the plaintiffs didn't meet the burden of proof.
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This article originally published at Bloomfield residents sue to remove town manager over Connecticut town's residency rule.