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(/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=5875019)Chartrand:"Chiefs needability ... torun theirdepartments."

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(/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=5875018)Brouillette:"Are werunning ourdepartments... or not?"

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(/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=5875017)Archinski:"Why fix it ifit isn'tbroken?"

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Dracut selectmen split on strong chiefs

By John Collins, jcollins@lowellsun.com

UPDATED: 04/14/2014 12:57:29 PM EDT

DRACUT -- A divided Board of Selectmen is scheduled to hold a final debate and voteTuesday on whether to strip incoming Town Manager James Duggan's authority to hire,fire, promote and discipline Dracut's Police and Fire Department personnel.

The requested change to the Town Charter is being initiated jointly by Fire Chief DavidBrouillette and Deputy Police Chief David Chartrand.

Selectman Joe DiRocco, a former Dracut fire chief, supports the change, while SelectmanTony Archinski, a former Dracut police lieutenant, opposes it, as do Gary Nolan, anattorney who represents Dracut's police supervisors and patrolman's union, and PaulHynes, an attorney who represents the town's firefighters union.

Nolan and Hynes cautioned the board that the change could lead to higherlegal costs.

They cited as examples the only two instances in Massachusetts in whichultimate control was granted to its chiefs -- to the fire chief in Chelmsford,and police chief in Hudson. Both municipalities have been afflicted with aninordinate number of costly lawsuits filed by police and fire personnel whose disciplinarycases and appeals have spiraled out of control, the attorneys said.

The Town Charter's "strong town manager" form of government was installed in 1986.Brouillette and Chartrand contend that the manager's current status as the "appointingauthority" in civil-service matters has enabled a nonpublic-safety professional to

potentially interfere, or "play politics with," departmental operations and hiringdecisions.

Brouillette and Chartrand asked selectmen to place a proposed charter amendmentbefore voters at Town Meeting in June that would have the town abide by the "Strong

Chiefs Law/Chapter 48" passed by the state Legislature in 1957.

Brouillette acknowledged that Dracut's "strong town manager" system produced no problems duringthe lengthy tenure of former Town Manager Dennis Piendak. However, he said there is no guaranteeof the same in the future.

"Are we running our departments without interference or not?" Brouillette askedselectmen during a recent public hearing on the issue. "We had Dennis for 28 years, but hewas one of a kind."

Town Counsel Jim Hall said he has researched court cases from both sides dating back tothe enactment of the 1957 Strong Chiefs Law. He said the "strong town manager" law takesprecedence.

"Our charter that was passed in 1986 trumps the Strong Chiefs Law," Hall said. "The way itworks is that whatever was passed last rules. There were other towns that had thisquestion, and the state's Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the town charter rules. Thereare numerous other powers that are still intact under the Strong Chiefs Act, except for thepower to hire and fire.

"Nolan told the board that Piendak, acting in his strong-manager role as amediator and appeals judge in personnel disciplinary cases, saved the town

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(/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=5875016)DiRocco:Supports thechange.

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hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential litigation over three decades.

"I've been involved in some pretty public, messy cases that were resolved because yourtown manager stepped in and resolved them," Nolan said. "He got people back to work.He assured that there were no lawsuits. He got releases of liability. It happened multipletimes."

Nolan cited legal costs in Hudson, where the fire chief has total control. "The BostonGlobe did an article a few years ago that stated in a five-year period, (Hudson) spent$350,000 in civil-service attorney fees. And I say this from a perspective of somebodywho would benefit if you change this. The people who would benefit from this change arethe lawyers. Good business for me, it's bad business for you."

Similarly, Hynes warned selectmen that Chelmsford opened a legal can of worms by giving the firechief sole responsibility over disciplinary decisions within his department.

"It does not work in Chelmsford," Hynes said. "There are numerous cases pending at the Division ofLabor Relations. There are grievances going to arbitration because you don't have a professional townmanager reviewing personnel decisions of the fire chief. You have one person making the decision,and then you have the same person reviewing that decision, as the appeals hearing officer, todetermine if he got it right in the first place."

Hynes said if Dracut adopts the strong-chief amendment to its charter, it will force the unionfirefighters to redo their collective-bargaining agreement.

"The current charter provides a system of checks and balances," he said. "Dracut's system is working.Let your new town manager continue working as your prior town manager did for 30 years."

Chartrand, however, insisted that the Strong Chiefs amendment is needed.

"The chiefs need the ability to preserve the process that has been in effect, to run their departmentswithout political influences," Chartrand said.

Archinski said Friday that he hopes a majority of selectmen will stand with him Tuesday night indeclining the chiefs' request to take power from Duggan.

"We've been doing this for 30 years, without ever having a problem," Archinski said. "Why fix it if itisn't broken? I like having an extra layer of review in disciplinary and promotional cases. Manygrievances in discipline cases are mitigated at the town-manager level."

It also would be unfair to Duggan to have enticed him to Dracut in large part because of its "strongmanager" form of government, only to change his working conditions upon his start, Archinski said.

"I am also fundamentally against giving complete authority to these chiefs without having anyaccountability," Archinski said. "Strong Chiefs legislation pretty much gives life tenure to these chiefs,and short of an indictment, there's not much we can do if we don't like the way the chiefs run theirdepartment."

Approaching Tuesday's vote, Selectman Bob Cox and Chairwoman Cathy Richardson had not yetfirmly indicated how they were planning to vote on the Strong Chiefs proposal. Selectman JohnZimini appeared to side with Archinski, making several comments during the board's charterdiscussion indicating he opposed "pecking away" at Dracut's strong town manager form ofgovernment.

The board's special hearing and vote on the topic is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Harmony Hall.

Follow John Collins on Twitter and Tout at johncolowellsun.

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• Reply •

Dracut_Observer • a month ago

I think both sides can and have worked for the town in the past. But its comments likethe one posted by the Executive Director that show where they stand. Unions cost thetowns money. They have one purpose, to protect their union members. They have noregard for the welfare of the town or the constituents they are paid to protect. Get rid ofunions, reduce costs, no further arguments.

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Mhmjjj2012 • a month ago

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• Reply •

Mhmjjj2012 • a month ago

How can you hire someone as Town Manager then change the rules of the game beforehe even starts his job? The incoming Town Manager doesn't even have a seat at the tableto give his opinion on the proposed change. Why take a lame duck vote on such animportant decision with the town election just a couple of weeks away?

1

• Reply •

Jerry Flynn • a month ago

Clearly, this change as proposed by the Fire Chief and Police Chief/Deputy is nothingmore than a attempt to circumvent the Collective Bargaining Agreement between theTown of Dracut and the New England PBA, Local 4A and 4B. As the exclusive bargainingagent, this would have enorrmous reprecussions on our appeal process at both the townand state levels, thus violating our current collective bargaining agreement with the Townof Dracut. Thus, forcing the New England PBA to take legal action against the Town ofDracut. Moreover, who will be disciplining the Deputy the next time he is involved in anotheralcohol related mishap? PLEASE . . . .it's time to let the newly appointed Town Managerdo the job he was chosen to do without interferrence from those who have their ownpoliticial agenda!Jerry Flynn, Executive DirectorNew England PBA

1

• Reply •

MakeReaganKing • a month ago Jerry Flynn

Yeah, because no one in a union would have a political agenda. Boy, what a joke.You might have actually swayed some people until you wrote that. Then you lostany veil of credibility.

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