Nov. 03--LONDONDERRY -- Not happy with the way the Town Council chose committee members for the newly formed Dispatch Study Committee, the firefighters union asked to obtain more than 90 pages of email correspondence under the state's Right-to-Know Law.
The Professional Firefighters of Londonderry Local 3160 IAFF also aren't pleased the town is looking into the dispatch issue in the first place.
"We still hold the position that we cannot understand why the town is spending time and money on an issue that has already been resolved by a committee of professionals that the town already pays for," union president Anthony Maccarone said.
In May, a proposal by Town Manager Dave Caron to move Londonderry's dispatch services to the Derry Communications Center was met with strong opposition.
The Town Council decided to form a study committee to see if dispatch could stay in town, merge with the police department or become a regional center.
"I have seen almost 1,000 signatures of people saying keep the fire department dispatch with the town of Londonderry," Maccarone said. "The people have said what they want done."
The councilors chose four residents from a pool of 13 interested applicants in September to serve on the committee.
Most of the interviewing and decisions were done by email, which is why Maccarone asked for that correspondence. Most of the documents contain information about the selection process.
During a council meeting at the end of September, it was agreed to add four firefighters and a tanker to the fire department after a review of a fatal fire in the spring on Hemlock Street.
Councilor Joe Green expressed his views on exploring the possibility of call firefighters.
This prompted Councilor John Farrell, also the chairman of the dispatch committee, to send an email the next day to the councilors, explaining the history of Londonderry's call firefighters.
As other councilors weighed in, Farrell wrote that his email, dated Sept. 29, was "meant as one-way communication."
"I think we are conducting an illegal meeting," he wrote. "This discussion is probably best saved for our next public meeting.
Green replied," Thanks for the tip, but I know what I am doing."
Farrell brought up email correspondence at the council meeting Oct. 17, and Caron was directed by the council to direct all board chairmen about the legality of meeting by email.
"Generally, a conversation between a quorum of a board can be interpreted as a meeting of the body," Caron said.
Maccarone said he wondered why Green "appears to be attacking the fire department in an email council meeting."
"If he has a problem with the way the fire department is being run, then he needs to address it with the chief and Dave Caron in an open council session," Maccarone said.
The dispatch study committee, which also has representatives from the fire and police departments, and other boards held its first meeting Oct. 24.
