Fire chief resigns over housing issue in contract
By Caitlyn Kelleher Journal Reporter

A half-hour of final negotiations brought a close to the ongoing debate between the Board of Selectmen and Fire Chief William Donahue.

Donahue agreed to resign from his position after an ongoing disagreement with the selectmen about fulfilling his contractual agreement to live within 15 miles of the town. The fire chief will work until March 16, which is 16 months after he was hired.

"It was a contractual issue," said Selectman Robert Plamondon. "I don't think there was any malicious intent on his part."

The selectmen voted at the end of a January 30 executive session to approve the separation agreement and release of all claims with Donahue. The fire chief wanted to consult his lawyer before signing the document, which was signed and released last week.

"From a practical standpoint, it became an untenable situation," Plamondon said. "The townspeople's interests need to be protected."

He said the town needs someone who can respond to emergencies quickly and consistently, and that under the present situation Donahue is "logistically unable, on a practical level, to answer emergencies in a timely" manner.

Donahue owns a house in West Newbury, where he worked as a lieutenant on the department. He reported having trouble selling because of the poor real estate market and has been staying with a colleague closer to town during the week. Donahue took his house off the market, which concerned selectmen.

Donahue was hired in September 2005, after the retirement of Fire Chief Jack Collins. State law requires fire chiefs to live within the 15 miles of town, and gives them six months to move after being appointed.

Selectmen had extended the moving date to October 2006 during a meeting in September of that year.

The separation agreement states that Donahue will be paid for his unused vacation time and he will be allowed to stay on the town's health insurance plan as regulated by federal law.

"Donahue agrees to undertake reasonable efforts to secure new employment," states the agreement. "Should Donahue file an unemployment claim while unemployed, the town agrees not to contest it."

Donahue and the selectmen have met in a series of executive sessions to discuss the housing issue over the last year. He and the board members have also met to discuss the "24 hours a day" stipulation in his contract after Donahue taught some courses at the Fire Academy in Stow.

The on-duty 24- hour clause also came with the benefit of a town vehicle that "may be used by the Chief for personal reasons," but not "for family vacations or recreational trips when the Chief would not be reasonably expected to respond to an incident or event," according to the contract.

Donahue agreed not to use his vehicle to commute to and from his home because of the additional mileage it added to the vehicle.