HOWLAND, Maine — Fire Chief Phil Dawson’s resignation is not a done deal.
Dawson said he is not sure whether he will leave the job, and the Board of Selectmen opted at a meeting on Monday to table deciding whether to accept it until the board meets again on June 8, Chairman Glenn Brawn said. The tabling was the board’s second delay in deciding whether to accept the resignation, which Dawson offered during a board meeting on May 19.
Dawson resigned in protest of the selectmen’s decision to hire incoming Town Manager William Lawrence and for what he said was a matter of principle. He objected to selectmen asking town workers their opinion of the potential hiring and then ignoring that opinion, which he believed was negative.
When reached Wednesday night, Dawson said his intention “is to discuss the situation with [board members].” Fire Department members have indicated they want him to remain, as have many residents, but he has not decided whether to retract his letter or confirm it, he said.
“I don’t want to degrade services,” Dawson said.
Dawson, who earns a $3,800 annual stipend for running the volunteer department, opted to resign his position effective June 26. Lawrence is due to begin work on July 1. The board opted to delay the decision to ensure that the issue got the time and attention it deserved, Brawn said.
Sometime before Lawrence begins work, Interim Town Manager Peggy Daigle might recommend that town leaders study the Fire Department’s “antiquated” management structure in a letter of recommendations she plans to write, she said Thursday.
Daigle consulted with the town’s attorney, Andrew Hamilton, to understand the town manager’s precise duties in regard to the department after Dawson’s resignation.
She learned, she said, that the volunteer department’s members recommend to the manager their choice of chief and the manager can accept or reject the choice within certain limits. Its structure, she said, might be inefficient or need updating to comply with state labor laws or other guidelines.
Dawson said that state Labor Department officials inspect the department every few years. As far as he knows, the department’s management structure is sound, he said.
It was adopted in 1993, according to Dawson’s memory, and might need an upgrade, he said.
“There’s been no effort to change it since then, to my knowledge,” Dawson said.
Daigle’s letter doesn’t guarantee a review or any changes to department structure, said Brawn.
“We have been functioning as a town for a long time,” Brawn said.
Daigle said she plans to write her letter, which will discuss inefficiencies she has seen in town government structure, before Lawrence begins his new job. No precise date for the letter has been set.