David Allaire, mayor of Rutland. Photo by Erin Mansfield/VTDigger
(This story was updated June 11 at 7:40 p.m.)
Rutland City Fire Chief Michael Jones and the mayor reached an agreement that will see the chief depart his post at the end of this month.Recently Jones said he intended to fulfill to the best of his abilities his two-year contract that expires later this year.
Mayor David Allaire issued a press release Saturday stating that he and Jones “executed an employment separation agreement.” Terms of the separation agreement were not immediately available.
“The Mayor and Chief mutually agreed that the separation would be in the best interests of the Chief, the Fire Department, and all the other parties involved,” Allaire stated in a three-paragraph press release unusually issued on a Saturday.
Allaire, reached Saturday afternoon, said the timing of the release, at 3 p.m. Saturday, was agreed to by him and the fire chief. The agreement was signed by the mayor and fire chief Friday. A copy of that agreement was not attached or made part of the press release. It was not available this weekend, with City Hall closed until Monday.
Jones responded Saturday afternoon to a phone call from VTDigger with a text message. “I decline to comment on anything about the fire department or City of Rutland,” the message read.
However, on his personal Facebook page, Jones did provide a link to a story posted by the Rutland Herald. The story prompted comments on his page as well as replies to those comments.
One commenter pointed out that Allaire said in the story that his “top priority would be hiring someone with firefighting experience, as well as professional supervisory experience.”
A reply in Jones’ name on his Facebook page stated, “We agreed not to be negative so I will take the high road and refrain from retaliation.”
Later, another reply in Jones’ name said, “I am being judged by a person who hardly knows me. I believe his experience is a former regional battery salesman. Not sure how many people he supervised, but I am confident my experience far exceeds his, including managing operational budgets, personnel management, and leadership.”
A follow-up reply, also attributed to Jones, said, “I can only assume he thinks that the supervisory skills and experience gained in the military are not ‘professional’, however, I am unclear on what he meant by ‘professional supervisory experience’. Maybe it wasn’t even about me?”
Allaire, prior to becoming mayor in March, had worked at Interstate Batteries in Rutland.
On Thursday Jones had said he was looking to fulfill the remainder of his two-year contract, which expires in November. Allaire declined comment at that time. In an interview in April, shortly after Allaire took office, Jones said he was exploring his options.
The fire department was a big issue during the mayoral campaign in March in which Allaire ousted former Mayor Christopher Louras from office.
A proposed restructuring plan brought up during a contentious budget process and backed by the chief and then-Mayor Louras drew opposition from the firefighters union, which ultimately endorsed Allaire in the mayoral race. The union also passed a no confidence vote in the fire chief during the budget process.
It appeared the mayor and the fire chief had a strained relationship since Allaire took office in March.
Allaire on Saturday said the separation agreement has been endorsed by the city Board of Aldermen, with a vote taking place earlier in the week following an executive session.
“Leading up to the campaign and leading up to the election, there had been a lot of issues over at the Rutland Fire Department,” the mayor said. “There was a proposal brought forward by the fire chief and the mayor that was not well received by the rank and file of the fire department as well as very big concerns from the Board of Aldermen.”
Allaire said he wanted to “reset things” at the fire department, and said it was “time for new leadership.”
The mayor described the separation agreement as “mutually” reached between the parties.
“I wish him well,” Allaire said of the fire chief. “He served in his capacity the best he could.”
Jones’ last day will be June 30.
The mayor said he intended to form a committee as part of the search for the next chief.
Jones has said previously that he and the mayor did not see eye to eye on the future of the fire department.
“It comes down to a fundamental difference on where we see the Fire Department going in the future,” the chief said Thursday. “We can keep it status quo and never really overcome the issues that are present or you can attempt to make the changes.”
Jones, who is retired from the Vermont National Guard, was appointed by Louras to the post of fire chief. Jones had no firefighting experience at the time of his appointment.
Louras at that time highlighted Jones’ strong administrative experience. The goal, Louras said then, would be to use those skills to help develop leadership within the department. Then, when Jones’ two-year contract expired this November, someone from within the department would be ready to become the next fire chief.
However, that doesn’t seem to have played out.
“It was doomed for failure from the beginning,” Jones said Thursday. “You take somebody from the outside that didn’t come from the fire service and get them to try to get people that are from the fire service, rooted deeply in the place, and say, ‘This guy is going to teach you all about leadership.’ They fought me from the beginning.”
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