By Betty Lilyestrom
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
LEOMINSTER, Mass. — All of the town’s call firefighters got a new job designation last week but only one of them asked for it. How the rest of them feel about it remains to be seen.
The one who asked for it was William Roberts, who is a call firefighter who gets paid by the town only when he answers fire calls. Like most call firefighters he earns his living at a full-time job — in his case serving as owner and operator of Classic Automotive Co. William wanted to use his company to perform work for the town but he was told by the state Ethics Commission that in order to do that he would have to be designated under his firefighter’s job as a special municipal employee.
Town Administrator Bob Reed wasn’t sure whether it was possible to designate one call firefighter as a special municipal employee, so he took the matter to town counsel, who said no, it wasn’t possible. The job itself would have to be so designated, so in order to grant William Roberts’ request, the Board of Selectmen, by unanimous vote, designated all of the town’s call firefighters as special municipal employees.
The change doesn’t give them a nickel more wages for fighting fires. And it doesn’t guarantee them the right to use their non-town skills and equipment for the town without violating state ethics laws. There are pages of other requirements they would have to meet first.
What it does mean is that the fire chief and other fire engineers are going to have to sit down and learn all those ethics requirements, because as part of the vote selectmen tasked them with learning all there is to learn about the state ethics laws, and then teaching them to all the call firefighters.
Copyright 2012 Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Inc.