Accountability Posts

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Off-agenda approval of fire chief job description and contract — a significant governance action tied to a ballot warrant article, taken without prior public notice

⚠️ TRANSPARENCY ALERT: At the 1/15 Sunapee Board of Firewards meeting, the board reviewed and approved a full-time fire chief job description AND employment contract — with no public notice that this was on the agenda. Residents had no chance to attend or weigh in.

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Public safety concern: dispatch communication errors occurring under a new restrictive radio protocol, with a board member on record disagreeing with the policy

Sunapee fire dispatch restricted radio use — then made multiple errors during a live Lake Ave fire alarm call. A board member said on record: 'I don't agree, but I'll adhere to it.' The board is now collecting data before raising the issue. 1/15 Firewards meeting.

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Voter awareness — two fire department warrant articles on the ballot with direct tax impact, and the board actively preparing persuasion materials for the deliberative session

Sunapee voters: Two warrant articles are headed to the deliberative session — $294K for capital reserve and $67K for a full-time fire chief. The board is preparing a one-page advocacy doc for the session. Make sure you show up on Feb. 3 informed.

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Accuracy concern: aspirational staffing presented as current or near-term reality in voter-facing materials ahead of warrant article vote

At the 1/15 Sunapee Firewards meeting, the board updated dept. staffing descriptions to reflect 7-day/week coverage — while acknowledging they can't always fill those shifts. That framing will appear in public documents before the deliberative session.

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🧵 What happened at the 1/15/26 Sunapee Board of Firewards meeting — and what residents deserved to know in advance. Thread:

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1/ The board conducted a detailed review and APPROVED a full-time fire chief job description and employment contract — including moving Fire Officer II and EMT Basic certifications to required qualifications. This did not appear to be publicly noticed as an agenda item.

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2/ This matters because there's a $67,000 warrant article on the ballot to create this position. Residents who might have wanted to weigh in on the qualifications or contract terms had no prior notice this would be decided at this meeting. That's a transparency failure.

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3/ On public safety: Dispatch asked the fire dept. to limit radio use to apparatus-only communications. Shortly after, multiple dispatch errors occurred during a real Lake Ave fire alarm call. Board member on record: 'I don't agree, but I'll adhere to it.'

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4/ The board is collecting documentation and plans to raise the issue with the dispatch center — but is currently complying with the restrictive protocol in the meantime. If errors are happening now, residents deserve to know this is being tracked.

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5/ Two warrant articles are going to the Feb. 3 deliberative session: $294K for a capital reserve fund and $67K/year for a full-time fire chief. The board spent significant meeting time building a one-page advocacy document to bring to that session.

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6/ One accuracy flag: the board updated its staffing description to reflect Monday–Sunday, 7am–7pm per diem coverage — but acknowledged on record that filling all those shifts is a challenge. That 'goal' language is heading into voter-facing materials.

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7/ a speaker said plainly: the current part-time chief is 'doing a full-time job. They're just not getting paid or recognized for it.' That's a legitimate argument — but voters should hear it at the deliberative session, not be surprised by a contract that was already drafted behind closed doors.

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8/ Bottom line: Show up to the Feb. 3 deliberative session. Ask about the fire chief contract terms. Ask about dispatch errors. Ask what 'Monday–Sunday coverage' actually means in practice right now. These are your tax dollars and your emergency services. /end

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Longer-form draft.

⚠️ SUNAPEE BOARD OF FIREWARDS — January 15, 2026: What Was Decided, and What Wasn't Publicly Noticed

At last Thursday's Board of Firewards meeting, the board conducted a detailed review and approved both a full-time fire chief job description and an employment contract — including a decision to move Fire Officer II and EMT Basic certifications from contractual requirements to required job qualifications. These are consequential governance decisions tied directly to a $67,000 warrant article that Sunapee voters will consider at the February 3 deliberative session. Based on available information, this contract and job description review did not appear to be publicly noticed as a specific agenda item. Residents who might have wanted to attend and comment on the qualifications or contract terms had no opportunity to do so. That is a transparency problem, regardless of whether the underlying proposal is sound.

There is also a public safety issue that deserves attention. The regional dispatch center recently asked the fire department to limit radio use to apparatus-only communications — a significant operational constraint. Shortly afterward, multiple dispatch errors occurred during a real emergency call on Lake Ave. One board member said on the record: 'I don't agree, but I'll adhere to it.' The board is now documenting these errors and plans to raise them with the dispatch center, but is currently operating under the restrictive protocol in the meantime. Residents deserve to know this is an active and unresolved issue.

On the warrant articles: both the $294,000 capital reserve appropriation and the $67,000 fire chief position have been approved by selectmen for the ballot. The board spent significant time at this meeting developing a one-page document to bring to the deliberative session making the case for these articles. That kind of outreach is fine — but voters should also know that the job description and contract were already approved at a meeting without clear advance public notice, and that the board's own staffing documents now describe 7-day-a-week per diem coverage as a 2026 goal, while acknowledging on record that filling all those shifts remains a challenge.

The February 3 deliberative session is your opportunity to ask questions and amend articles before they go to a final vote. Come prepared. Ask about the contract terms. Ask what the staffing numbers actually reflect. Ask how dispatch errors are being addressed. These decisions affect your safety and your tax bill.