FINALLY: COOPERATION AT FIRE DISTRICT

Thiessen Sworn In As Commissioner, Logue and Sheppard Gain Traction

The initial moments of last night’s Fire District meeting were contentious. A feisty parliamentary battle was fought to determine who would become the new Chair and Vice Chair of the Commission. With Rosmarie Logue and Jeena Sheppard forcing votes but finding themselves in the familiar position of being one vote short. It was clear that newly sworn in Commissioner Jules Thiessen had teamed with June Gaskill and Nicole Saucier to deny these positions to Logue and Sheppard.

But once Mr. Thiessen was elected Chairman, the dynamic shifted. It started voting to determine “committee assignments” when Chairman Thiessen gave consideration to assertions by Logue and Sheppard that they should be given higher level committee assignments. But an even larger shift in communication dynamics came during the discussion regarding swearing in of officers. The officers being sworn are for operational positions such as “Deputy Chief” and “Fire Police”. Commissioner Logue skillfully described a failure to follow Bylaws and procedures by former Chair Nicole Saucier during the interviewing and nomination process for these positions. This moved Chairman Theissen to suggest that the Commissioners needed an executive session to discuss the alleged failures with the District Solicitor Watson.

When the Commissioners returned from a closed executive session, Thiessen announced that there was enough evidence to conclude that proper procedures may not have been followed for the interviewing and nomination of officers. Therefore, any person currently holding an officer position will continue to do so month to month until Solicitor Watson can affirm whether proper procedures were followed. If he does not, then the Commission will redo the interview and nomination process.

During the public comment period, several residents mentioned that they appreciated the new cooperative dynamic. Thiessen replied that his imperative is to work together regardless of party or factional affiliations. Ms. Logue responded that she believed the campaign rhetoric about party, which was not mailed out by Thiessen, was inappropriate for a Fire District race and she appreciated the new tone of cooperation.

The Reporter will keep a watch on the Fire District to observe whether the new dynamic is durable.