Town of Milford
Fire Department

TO:
Board of Selectmen
Budget Advisory Committee
Guy Scaife, Town Administrator

FROM:
Richard J. Pauley, Fire Chief

RE:
“Recruiting and Retaining Call Firefighters”
Larry Pickett, January 3, 2007

DATE:
January 9, 2007

This memorandum shall serve as my response to, and position on, the document entitled "Recruiting and Retaining Call Firefighters" as authored by Selectman Pickett dated January 3, 2007. A copy of Selectman Pickett's nine (9) page document dated January 3, 2007, is attached to this memorandum.

It is my position that the manner in which Selectman Pickett selectively presented this document was improper, irresponsible, and an attempt to undermine the authority of the Town Administrator and the Fire Chief. Further, a review of the Town of Milford's newly adopted ethics policy indicates that his conduct in this regard violated both the public trust and principle of accountability.

This position is based upon the fact that Selectman Pickett presented his document to only one selectman and the Budget Advisory Committee Chairman without any consultation with the Town Administrator, Finance Director or Fire Chief with respect to the ramifications of his proposals. Further, had Selectman Pickett conferred with the senior management team, he would have been advised that three of his proposals in the document are not permitted by state law, several of his proposals are not permitted by the Town's Ethic's Policy and/or the Rules and Regulations of the Milford Fire Department and at least two of his proposals significantly increase the Town's exposure to additional liability. In addition, I find Selectman Pickett's conduct improper as he attempted to circumvent the public budget process by forwarding inaccurate information as it pertains to the Fire Department in an attempt to further his own personal opinion (that being there is no need for additional full-time firefighting personnel). This is clearly evident by his selection as to who received his January 3rd document (only one selectman and the Budget Advisory Committee Chairman) and his subsequent meeting with the Budget Committee in an attempt to influence them not to support the Town Administrator and Fire Chief on the need for an additional full-time position for fire department.

With respect to the content of Selectman Pickett's January 3rd document I will address his suggestions or examples as follows:

Solicit discounts at local businesses for the call firefighters

Soliciting discounts at local businesses through the use of a discount card or free dinner with the purchase of another dinner is a clear violation of the Fire Department's Code of Conduct. Further, it is discriminatory as this "discount" would be available to call firefighters and would not include full time members of the department, other's in the community who volunteer their time (i.e. Planning Board members, Conservation Commission members, Ambulance Service personnel, etc.). I also agree with the Town Administrator's position that this action can be viewed as coercive patronage and from a public perception standpoint is very negative. In addition, the soliciting of discounts from local businesses by a law enforcement and code compliance agency is absolutely unacceptable, unethical and would create a very untenable situation with respect to the proper and equal enforcement of public safety standards.

Please allow me to make myself perfectly clear, in this regard, I can not, and will not, support or undertake any activity that purposely solicits discounts or "free meals" for members of this department.

Town health care plan

The Town's health care plan does not allow for any part-time employee who works less than 20 hours per week to participate in the plan regardless of whether the employee pays for the entire premium or not. This is common practice by the major health care providers in the industry. Further, to insinuate that this program would be of no cost to the Town (even if it were permitted by the provider) is inaccurate as there is a cost to administer and manage this type of activity by the Human Resources and Finance departments.

This has been previously researched by myself, the former Town Administrator and Human Resources Director and had Selectman Pickett taken the time or consideration to consult with the senior management team he would have been advised that this is not a permitted or viable incentive.

Cable internet access

The suggestion to provide cable internet access at the fire station so that individuals can work at home is problematic for several reasons, including Town website security, additional costs to the Town should other internet providers be necessary and not feasible with the space limitations in the building. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, is the use of Town owned property (cable internet access) requires oversight to ensure that the business or entity using this property is legal and appropriate. Further, the use of Town owned property for personal or financial gain is improper.

Recruitment/Retention bonus

The suggestion to revert back to the annual payroll of on-call personnel (versus the bi¬weekly pay check) is not allowed by State Labor laws (RSA 275:43) as all personnel who are paid on an hourly (or wage/activity) basis are required to be paid at least monthly.

This has been previously researched by the former Town Administrator and current Finance Director and, again, had Selectman Pickett consulted with the senior management team he would been advised that this suggestion is illegal.

Start an explorer post

At the November 27, 2006, Board of Selectmen's meeting I clearly articulated to the Board (with Selectman Pickett present) that there was absolutely no interest on behalf of the officers or members of the Fire Department to plan, organize and maintain an explorer post due to lack of interest and the significant amount of time needed for this activity. This issue was discussed with the members of the Department at two separate meetings and it was very evident that this is not an activity that Department members were willing to undertake. Selectman Pickett is fully aware that this is the position of the Department members.

This Department had started an explorer post several years ago and after a brief period of time (approximately one year) there was insufficient interest on the part of the leader's of the post and the participants to keep the program active.

Start an auxiliary team

The use of any support personnel or an "auxiliary team" still requires an application process, background check, pre-employment physical and a level of training that would be State certified firefighter Level I in accordance with Department policy. Further, from a training, operations and safety standpoint this proposal requires the fire department incident commander to segregate and manage the scene in a more complex and difficult manner with respect to monitoring "auxiliary" personnel not operating in the hot or red zone. The Fire Department is considered a para-military organization requiring strict discipline in emergency situations and all personnel to have a basic minimum level of training, skills and abilities. Further, all personnel must have the ability to interchange job functions and tasks on a moment's notice.

The suggestion to form an auxiliary team was reviewed with the risk management representative from Primex, the Town's insurance provider, who strongly advised that any individual serving on the Fire Department in an operations capacity undergo the same application process, pre-employment approvals, and certification as a firefighter in accordance with National Fire Protection Association standards and New Hampshire Firefighter Level I criteria.

It was opinion of our risk management representative that the concept of an auxiliary team has the potential of increasing the Town's liability exposure for several reasons inclusive of training or skill levels that are incompatible with current recognized standards and the requirement for significant additional oversight at emergency scenes with no substantial operations benefit.

Tax credit on firefighter's home real estate taxes

The suggestion to offer a tax credit on firefighter's real estate taxes is not permitted by RSA 72 and subsequently illegal. On at least two occasions, I had discussions with Selectman Pickett on this matter, advising him that my research had revealed this suggestion is not legal.

Further, even it were legal, this suggestion is discriminatory in that firefighter's who rent property or live outside of Milford would not be eligible for this incentive. The suggestion to provide a tax credit to businesses for each hour one of their employees responds to an emergency as a call firefighter is also not permitted by State law and illegal.

Again, had Selectman Pickett consulted with the Town Administrator and Finance Director he would have been advised that these tax credit suggestions are illegal.

I am also very troubled that in his document Selectman Pickett stated that "10-15% of the calls the Fire Department responded to in 2004 were just three locations". This information is not true, the facts are that the three locations he is referring to resulted in 1% of the total emergency responses for 2004. Further, several of the incidents were as a result of abandoned food on the stove which had the potential for escalating to a kitchen fire and our response in a timely manner prevented this situation from happening. It is very clear that by circulating his January 3rd document in the manner in which he did, and not using due diligence in his research of information, he acted in a manner that is both improper and irresponsible. Further, through his actions Selectman Pickett violated, the public trust, violated the principle of independent objective judgment and violated thi principle of accountability as prescribed in the Town's policy on town officials and town employee ethics.

I would hope that the Board of Selectmen seriously review this matter and Selectman Pickett's actions and take the necessary action to insure its credibility and integrity as a Board.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/
Richard J. Pauley
Fire Chief