• With recall looming, Barre selectmen ready to choose new fire chief

• Posted May. 13, 2016 at 12:22 PM
  Updated at 6:33 PM
  
  

  BARRE — Selectmen are scheduled next week to appoint a replacement to Fire Chief Joseph Rogowski, but his lawyer has told the town administrator that the board would be breaking the law if it did so.

  The appointment planned for Monday precedes a recall vote the next day, Tuesday, when voters will decide the political fate of Selectman Richard P. Jankauskas, the board chairman.

  One of the reasons cited by the leader of the recall effort, Gregory P. O’Sullivan, for why Mr. Jankauskas should be removed from office is disagreement over the board’s decision last year to not renew Chief Rogowski’s contract. The contract ends June 30. Mr. O'Sullivan's affidavit, on file with the town clerk as part of the recall effort, alleges that Mr. Jankauskas has undermined public safety in the town.

  “I understand that the Board of Selectmen’s agenda for Monday includes interviews for the position of Fire Chief,” Chief Rogowski's lawyer, Jack Collins, wrote in a May 12 email to Town Administrator Heather Lemieux. “Any appointment would be unlawful,” the lawyer told Ms. Lemieux.

  He wrote: “As my earlier email indicated, the town does not appear to have followed the town code regarding publicizing the position or involving the Personnel Board. That makes any action regarding contract negotiations with a candidate, which is also shown on the agenda, problematic.”

  Calls to Ms. Lemieux and Mr. Jankauskas on Friday morning were not immediately returned.

  In an interview, Chief Rogowski said he hopes to keep his job.

  “I’ve worked 42 years for the town, including the past 20 as fire chief,” Chief Rogowski said.

  On Friday morning, the town website showed a selectmen’s meeting scheduled for “Fire Chief Interviews” at 1 p.m. Monday at the Henry Woods Building, 40 West St. The agenda also shows an executive session is also scheduled, “if needed,” related to “contract negotiations for Fire Chief.”

  In Tuesday's recall election, residents will be asked to vote on the following question: “Shall the voters of Barre recall from the office of the Board of Selectmen Richard P. Jankauskas?”

  Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Precinct 1 voting is at the Senior Center, 557 South Barre Road. Precinct 2 voting is at American Legion Post 2 (formerly the Post 404), 450 South Barre Road.