FIRE DEPARTMENT BACK IN COURT
Residents Claim Re-appointment Of Fire Director Was Not Legal
As previously reported, on 9/12/25 Judge Cook ruled that the appointment of Jason Carty to Fire Director was “void” from the start due to a conflict of interest by Commissioner Gaskill. This meant that Mr. Carty was no longer the Fire Director as of 9/12/25 .
Yet on 9/15/25, Mr. Carty was still using his official Fire District email to review progress made during his tenure and to instruct personnel on the modified chain of command for administrative matters. That same email opined that the court ruling was “political” and a “bump in the road”.
As Mr. Carty seemed to predict, it was only a week later that his re-appointment was discussed at the “Special Meeting” of 9/19/25. That contentious meeting featured a surprise resignation of George Gaskill, which removed the conflict of interest limitation on Commissioner Gaskill’s voting rights. The meeting also featured an objection by Commissioner Logue to a flawed meeting notification process. She only learned of the meeting during a vacation when members of the public relayed the information. Other complaints were heard from residents who said the meeting was illegal.
Despite these complaints, Commissioners Saucier, Gaskill and Brown pushed through the re-appointment of Jason Carty. Mr. Carty signed a new contract some time in October, which according to well-placed sources has a significant salary increase compared to the previous contract.
ANOTHER BUMP IN THE ROAD APPEARS
On November 1, 2025, a complaint was filed in Superior Court alleging the Mount Holly Fire District and Commissioners violated the Open Public Meetings Act [OPMA] and the court order to Judge Cook.
“Count one” of the complaint alleges that the quick re-appointment of Mr. Carty without a new candidate search and deliberation meant that the re-appointment relied on a “tainted process from the first appointment” which Judge Cook ruled as “void”.
“Count two” of the complaint alleges that the District was in violation of the OPMA which states that “no public body shall hold a meeting unless adequate notice thereof has been provided to the public”. This count has multiple parts including the failure of the District to provide any advance notice to Commissioner Rosemarie Logue.
The Reporter will follow up with any news of a court hearing date.