May 9, 2002
By JAMIE HOMER
Branford Sound
BRANFORD -- The Branford Board of Fire Commissioners has been considering the charges brought against Fire Chief Peter Buonome for months now.
The hearing scheduled to take place May 2, at which the charges were going to be considered, was postponed due to proceedings at the Superior Court.
Buonome's role as chief was first officially brought under public scrutiny when, in late February, First Selectman Anthony "Unk" DaRos presented a letter with three charges against the chief.
The charges were read at the February meeting of the Fire Department and soon thereafter drafted by the town attorney.
At a meeting convened on April 11, in the presence of fire commissioners, town dignitaries, and residents, Town Attorney Penelope Bellamy added two additional charges against Buonome.
The fourth charge was in criticism of Buonome's role as fire marshal and his failure to file reports of local fires with the state, as required by statute.
The last charge by the Fire Commission accuses Buonome of failure to comply with a written directive from Nov. 29 to have a comprehensive written plan for the budget for the fiscal year. He failed to present this plan at both the January and February meetings.
At the April 11 meeting, after much consideration, the Board of Fire Commissioners decided to move forward with formal charges that were scheduled to be considered by the Board of Fire Commissioners in a meeting last Thursday.
The course of action did not go as planned by the Fire Commission, however.
On the morning of May 2, Superior Court Judge Lynda Munro heard Buonome's case, represented by Attorney Karen Torre. Torre requested a restraining order from the court and named the town, the fire board, fire board members involved in the hearing and First Selectman DaRos as defendants.
Torre's argument against having the hearing proceed was grounded in a statute that stated that the town was required to hold the hearing no sooner than five days and no later than 10 days from the date when the notice was given to the chief, which was April 11. Torre suggested that the town was not following the appropriate procedures and must, therefore, drop its case against Buonome.
Buonome is seeking more than $15,000 in damages.
Following her consideration of the case, Judge Munro opted not to make a definitive decision, calling for the case to be continued in Court on Monday. The results of Monday's proceedings were not available at the time of press.
The Board of Fire Commissioners, though anxious to resolve the issue, agreed to postpone the hearing to a future date, which had not been set at press time.