By Katelyn Sahagian
The Derry News
LONDONDERRY, N.H. — The town has two temporary leaders after the fire chief’s resignation led the town manager to also resign.
Bo Butler, the former fire chief, decided to retire on Oct. 7 due to budget concerns. According to a statement from former Town Manager Michael Malaguti, Butler would have been more than $200,000 over budget for overtime pay.
According to Chris Schofield, the president of the town’s firefighter union Local 3160, Malaguti and Finance Director Justin Campo mandated that Butler reduce staffing and threatened the fire chief with disciplinary action if he did not comply.
In March, voters approved a warrant article to allow the hiring of four additional firefighters and designated $495,000 for their salaries. The new hires would bring the department to 13 firefighters for each shift, making it safer for crews responding to emergencies.
Members of the public, along with members of Local 3160, the Londonderry firefighters union, demanded an explanation from the Town Council on Oct. 21 about Butler’s resignation, and also to call for Malaguti’s resignation.
“We sacrificed this young man, that’s what we did,” said resident John Grennon. “We look terrible and everybody should be ashamed that he had to make the decision that he made on behalf of his members and on behalf of the residents in this community.”
Malaguti released a statement, saying these claims are false and that he and Campo met with Butler to draft a plan to handle the department’s overtime budget.
On Oct. 24, Malaguti submitted his own resignation in response to the criticism from residents.
“While I believe I have enough support on the Town Council to continue my service, I have decided that clinging to a job I love would come at too great a personal cost,” Malaguti wrote in the letter. “This is the right moment for me to move on.
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