By PATRICIA DADDONA
Day Staff Writer, Waterford
Published on 11/23/2004
Waterford— A professional firefighter and retired chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners has asked the Representative Town Meeting not to re-appoint current Chairman Melvin E. Carson.
The letter-writer, Roger D. Sylvestre, served as a firefighter in Waterford from 1972 to 2000 and chaired the town's Board of Fire Commissioners. He is now chief of fire and emergency services for the Mashantucket Pequots.
In a letter sent this month to RTM Moderator Alan Gardiner, Sylvestre accused Carson of mismanaging the fire service and bringing “disrespect” to the commission, paid staff and volunteer firefighters.
Over the years, Carson has failed to comply with the town charter and disregarded past commission policies of remaining accountable to the first selectman, Sylvestre wrote. He also cited a recent Freedom of Information Commission ruling that found the fire commission violated Fire Administrator Bruce Miller's rights to proper notice of a closed meeting concerning Miller's job performance.
Carson “has chosen not to follow the direction set by his predecessors,” Sylvestre wrote, “ignoring the warning signs of discord and inefficiency, and has led the Fire Commission to infuriate those in power with a ‘good-ol'-boy' way of thinking....”
Carson is a longtime chairman and firefighter who served as a fire chief at the Quaker Hill Volunteer Fire Co. in the 1970s and 1980s. He could not be reached for comment Monday.
In recent years, the commission and First Selectman Paul B. Eccard have been at odds over whether to use money set aside for new fire trucks for other town needs. The boards of selectmen and finance are considering seeking an outside consultant to study whether the town's five fire stations should be consolidated.
Three years ago, the FBI began investigating the fire service's bidding practices but aborted the probe and found no wrongdoing. The Waterford fire service also no longer holds the highest insurance rating available, as it had in the past, according to Sylvestre and the newly completed internal study.
Gardiner has asked Eccard to provide records of the FOI decision to the RTM for its Dec. 6 meeting.
Fire officials contacted Monday said they had not seen the letter and would not comment. Sylvestre could not be reached for comment.