Controversy surrounds fate of public safety

Date: 4/25/2011

April 25, 2011

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

EAST LONGMEADOW — Emotions ran high at a public hearing on April 20, at which Selectman James Driscoll unveiled the plan for consolidating the fire chief and police chief positions into one commissioner of public safety.

"Anyone have a [Red] Sox score?" Driscoll joked amidst a barrage of criticism that came from residents, many of whom are current or former firefighters, in an effort to relieve some tension.

The proposal, which will be put to a vote at the Annual Town Meeting on May 16, would make Police Chief Douglas Mellis the public safety commissioner and place him in charge of all administrative duties for both departments. Fire Chief Richard Brady is retiring after the next fiscal year, as required by Massachusetts General Law.

Neither Mellis, nor Brady was present at the hearing. Selectmen Jack Villamaino and Paul Federici were also absent because one had an "important personal matter" and another was working, Driscoll said.

If the warrant article passes, Mellis would spend the next year working with Brady on cross training and getting acclimated with his new responsibilities. Driscoll stress-ed that Mellis did not push for the position, but told the Selectmen when they approached him that he would do what the town asked of him.

Deputy Fire Chief Stephen Rybacki would take over fire operations, which include acting as the chief decision maker at an emergency scene.

Driscoll told those in attendance that the proposal was being brought forward because it was an opportunity for the town to save money while still improving upon public safety in the community.

"Our job as Board of Selectmen is to come up with new, innovative ideas that add improved service to the town, but also are fiscally responsible," Driscoll said. "The idea of combining the police and fire chief positions is not a new one, but it was my idea to bring it to this town."

Driscoll said the town stands to save approximately $70,000 through this change in the departments' structure.

"If we paid a fire chief $70,000, with the costs that go along with that, such as benefits, it's about 30 percent on top of that $70,000," Driscoll said. "So in reality, it's a $100,000 expense to the town."

The figure of $70,000 is the average salary for a fire chief in Massachusetts, according to Driscoll, and even if the town applied the extra 30 percent toward raises for Mellis and Rybacki, who will have to take on added responsibility, it would save more than 10 percent of its total operating costs.

Driscoll said that Mellis' administrative prowess in the Police Department and his reputation in the community and throughout the state were major reasons why the board felt it was prudent to move forward and bring the proposal to town meeting.

"We have a known entity in our police chief. He has been recognized by his peers as an excellent chief and he is a great administrator," Driscoll said. "If we didn't have him, we probably wouldn't consider this at all."

Driscoll said he had talked with Brady and fire chiefs from around the state and admitted that he did not find a fire chief or association anywhere that supported this command structure.

"However, I have not seen any evidence to show that it could not work," Driscoll said, pointing out that "demotivation" was the main concern of those he talked to that voiced opposition.

Several members of the community pressed Driscoll to name Massachusetts towns and cities that have successfully implemented such an infrastructure and Driscoll said he could not name any.

"There are not any towns in our situation with an 8 [a.m.] to 4 [p.m.] Fire Department with call service that use this system," Driscoll said. "My research has shown that there are towns throughout the country that have successfully used this, but most of them are in larger communities and have full 24-hour fire coverage."

Retired East Longmeadow Fire Chief Forrest Goodrich raised major objections to the proposal, stating there is more to the job of fire chief than administrative duties, including investigation and permitting.

"It took me 24 years to know all of the fire laws. A chief had better know every law and regulation," Goodrich said. "Investigating is a very important part of the job and it's very time consuming."

Driscoll said that other members of the Fire Department, namely Rybacki, also perform those duties and would continue to do so.

East Longmeadow resident Eric Madison, who is fire chief of the Longmeadow Fire Department, raised concerns with the functionality of the department under such a command structure and added that the role of a fire chief is such that it is impossible to separate the administrative role from the active role in fighting fires.

"You can't talk about one without the other and to say you can shows how little your understanding of it is," Madison said.

Madison and former East Longmeadow Fire Chief Robert Wallace pointed out that in most cases, the deputy fire chief is in charge of the scene of a fire until the fire chief arrives. At that point, the deputy chief joins the rest of the firefighters in actively battling a blaze. Under the proposed structure, the deputy chief would not actively fight fires. "How can you afford to lose another firefighter?" Madison asked.

"I don't think the fire chief engaged an active fire this year," Driscoll said. "There has never been a point where we're hurting for coverage."

Resident Robert Hildreth also pointed out that when Mellis retires, "to refill the position would be a difficult task."

Driscoll conceded the point and said that when that happens, the town may want to look at going back to a command structure that includes separate police and fire chiefs.

Mellis declined to comment on the proposal when contacted by Reminder Publications.