BOURNE — Fire Chief Norman Sylvester Jr., has announced he will be retiring, citing an extremely difficult climate in the department as his reason for leaving.
"This decision wasn't easy for me but I feel it's best for the department I care about deeply," Sylvester wrote in a March 1 letter to Town Administrator Thomas Guerino. "The Bourne Fire Department has become one of what's in it for me instead of what's best for the community."
After five years in the position, Sylvester will remain on the job until July 5, the letter says.
The letter outlined a number of his accomplishments, including hiring of an assistant fire chief, issuing new rules and regulations manuals, and revamping and improving the inspections department to be more customer- and business-friendly. He also worked to update equipment for personnel, renegotiated a four year contract with the union — local International Association of Fire Fighters 1717 — and started the process of forming a new southside fire station committee.
The Board of Selectmen voted 3-2 in February 2015 to hire Sylvester, who previously served as a fire prevention officer in the Hyannis Fire Department. His annual salary is $146,903, according to the 2018 town report.
In February, an arbitrator ruled Sylvester violated the collective bargaining agreement when he refused to send a firefighter to full-time training at the state academy in Stow. The town has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to nullify the previous arbitration the town lost in Barnstable Superior Court on March 6.
"The men and women of Bourne Fire Department are truly a great bunch of individuals," Sylvester wrote in the letter. "They worked extremely hard during my tenure as Chief and I couldn't be any prouder to have such a dedicated group of members."
Sylvester did not return phone calls seeking comment for this story.
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