http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080108/NEWS/801080307
By Patrick Cassidy STAFF WRITER
January 08, 2008 6:00 AM
YARMOUTHPORT — As the crowd gathered yesterday afternoon in the lobby of Ardeo's restaurant at King's Way it could have been the final moments before the start of a wedding. Or a funeral.
Dressed for the most part in crisp dark suits, about 40 Yarmouth firefighters murmured among themselves as they waited on a formal announcement of their "no confidence" vote in Yarmouth Fire Chief C. Randall Sherman.
"This is not about money," Paul Holmquist, president of the Yarmouth Professional Fire Fighters union said. "This is about the way we've been treated as a fire service."
Holmquist said that although some of the issues raised in a seven-page outline of the reasons for the union's action were resolved during recent contract negotiations, many of the concerns remained.
Union members voted Thursday to go forward with the measure.
Primary among the allegations was that the chief lacked leadership skills and neglected the safety of firefighters and the community. The document said, for example, that the chief did not convene a safety committee — which existed in the past — despite repeated requests from the department.
The document alleged mismanagement of resources, discrimination in hiring practices and a hostile work environment.
Grievances brought by union members under Sherman have risen sharply, and those that ended in arbitration went from zero in 15 years before Sherman became chief to three in the past three years, Holmquist said.
Sherman was appointed chief in 2004 and has worked 36 years in the department.
Yarmouth Fire Capt. Allen Bowles and Lt. Robert Kittila, both members of the union's executive board, said they worked with Sherman when he was a firefighter but as a manager he did not address the concerns of firefighters.
They said they met with him to discuss many of the issues but, for the most part, he did not listen.
"He either glossed over every concern or denied that it existed with the exception of one issue," Kittila said. That issue was a personnel matter that Kittila declined to comment on.
Reached last night Sherman said he would respond to the allegations in more detail today but that the charges regarding safety issues were "outrageous."
Fire service for Yarmouth residents would not be affected by the dispute, Sherman said, echoing union members.
"I want the citizens of Yarmouth to understand that this department is filled with good people — competent, skilled, well-trained, well-equipped people," Sherman said.
The selectmen intend to release a statement in support of Sherman at their regular meeting tonight, Suzanne McAuliffe, chairwoman of the board, said last night. "We also feel that our emergency service personnel are excellent," she said.
Service has improved in recent years, Selectman William Marasco said. Marasco has pushed for ambulance service from the West Yarmouth fire station in the past two years, a major point of contention supported by firefighters.
Under the newly arbitrated contract, an ambulance is located in the station but call-back coverage there when that ambulance is out was eliminated between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m.
Robert McCarthy, president of the Massachusetts Professional Fire Fighters union, told Yarmouth firefighters yesterday that the no-confidence vote was a difficult choice.
"This is probably the most difficult thing that you ever had to do," McCarthy said.
McCarthy, who owns a home in Yarmouth, said he only saw a vote of no confidence in a fire chief four times in his four decades as a firefighter.
McCarthy plans to bring a resolution for Sherman's censure before the International Association of Fire Fighters, he said. The no-confidence vote and censure are the most serious actions that can be taken against a chief outside of a courtroom, McCarthy said.
Neither move has a direct impact on Sherman's employment by the town, but Holmquist and McCarthy called on Yarmouth selectmen to seriously consider the union's concerns.
"The ultimate goal is to let the town know the situation," Holmquist said.
Patrick Cassidy can be reached at pcassidy@capecodonline.com.