By Kate Ramunni
Connecticut Post Online (Connecticut)
Copyright 2006 MediaNews Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
SHELTON, Conn. — The Board of Fire Commissioners has sent Mayor Mark A. Lauretti a second letter requesting he clarify who has the authority to lead the Fire Department after he made it clear that he is not ready to approve any new appointments.
Fire Chief John Millo recently announced he is leaving the position he has held since 1998. The board chose Assistant Chief Mike Ullrich, who has been with the department for almost two decades, to replace the chief, but Lauretti has indicated he will not sign off on the appointment because he believes the board exerts too much control over the department.
Board Chairman Bob Araujo said the latest letter asks the mayor to reappoint Millo on a temporary basis.
“We will be meeting with him in the next few weeks,” Araujo said, “and we will be looking for an equitable solution.”
The board discussed the issue at its Tuesday meeting.
Millo said he also would like clarification from the mayor.
“I would like something in writing for my records,” he said.
Lauretti has said he believes the chief, who, according to the City Charter is responsible for day-to-day Fire Department operations, has become nothing but a figurehead, because the commission controls the department. The mayor has said he will not approve any appointments until that changes, he said.
Fire Commissioner Bruce Kosowsky said he does not understand Lauretti’s reluctance to approve the appointments. The chief is in charge of the department and the job description reflects that, Kosowsky said.
“We worked very hard with all of the members of the board to come up with a good job description for the position,” he said. “My responsibility is to abide by what the residents said when it comes to the charter,” Kosowsky said, noting recent attempts to modify the charter have failed. “We have a scope of duties in the charter, and my obligation is to back what the residents said it should be.”
Kosowsky said he is baffled about why the mayor would target a department that provides such a valuable service on a volunteer basis, saving the city millions.
“What other agency in the city of Shelton saves the taxpayers so much and works with a comparably very small budget?” he said. “We are not asking for anything but to be treated fairly.
“I just don’t understand what the problem is.”