Fire Chief Hiring and Department Restructuring

The issue of hiring a full-time Fire Chief and related department restructuring emerged following the resignation of a Fire Ward member named Dana, which left the Board of Firewards short of a functional quorum needed to advance leadership searches. At the April 6 selectboard meeting, members first raised the chief recruitment process and proposed aligning educational standards with those used for the Police Chief.

On April 9 the Board of Firewards began debating whether the chief job description should require a college degree or emphasize fire-service certifications and experience; the same meeting reviewed three applicants for the vacant Fire Ward seat and weighed conflict-of-interest risks of appointing an active department member. By the April 23 meeting the board reached consensus to require an Associate’s degree in a relevant field and voted to recommend Mike Joseph to the Select Board despite the earlier concerns.

At the May 7 meeting the board finalized the recruitment strategy, agreeing to explore paid services from the state fire academy while acknowledging that relocation costs remained unbudgeted. Public comments throughout the period highlighted sequencing requirements (Fire Ward seats must be filled before the chief search can proceed), payroll-compliance questions, and the desire for greater community input in leadership selection.

The process therefore links directly from the initial vacancy and standards discussion to the job-description revision, candidate recommendation, and outsourcing decision, each step conditioned on the prior board action.

At the June 15 selectboard meeting, the board appointed Neil Senior and Rick Mastin as fire wards following interviews and evaluation of complementary skills, with one advisory spot remaining open. Separate votes approved each appointment, reconstituting the board and advancing professional development of fire services with anticipated fire academy support.

At the June 18 Board of Firewards meeting, the board elected Speaker A as Chairman and advanced Fire Chief recruitment by agreeing to review documents and join an upcoming Teams call with the Fire Academy for oral boards and background screening. The board also postponed disposing of the old command vehicle until after the new chief is hired.