JohnstonPatch Meets... David DeCesare, Johnston Police Deputy Chief

On March 16, Mayor Joseph M. Polisena — retired Pawtucket Fire Chief Timothy McLaughlin.

And with McLaughlin's first official day on the job scheduled for April 11, Police Deputy Chief David DeCesare will have completed an assignment he said has been "trying," though he also described it as "beneficial" — managing some of the day-to-day administrative operations of the fire department.

Following the resignation of Andrew J. Baynes in January, Polisena and tapped DeCesare to assist in managing the fire department.

During a recent interview in his office at the police department, DeCesare said he at first "felt like I was going to be a fish out of water," facing a completely new experience after 23 years on the police force.

Once Polisena and Police Chief Richard S. Tamburini explained that his role would me more as "a go-between for town hall and the fire department," DeCesare recalled, "I felt a little more comfortable — I'd be doing a little of what I do here, across the street."

DeCesare explained that he then began meeting with fire department personnel.

"I sat down with the batallion chiefs amd told them, 'I'm here on a managerial level between here and the acting chief — there's not going to be any time for (Polisena) to come here and oversee purchase requests and the overtime budget,'" DeCesare said, adding he sought to create an atmosphere of cooperation. "Going over there, it wasn't a really good situation, and if the shoe was on the other foot, I could see it causing discord here — it really wouldn't go over well. So I anticipated their hesitancy and tried to dispel that somewhat."

Saying he took an attitude of "Let's sit down and make the best of this," DeCesare explained the fire department's staffers returned his approach with a high level of professionalism and support.

"They have been very cordial, professional, and accomodating," DeCesare said. "I couldn't ask for a better welcome or a better reception than the one I received over there."

It was also clear fairly quickly, DeCesare said, that the higher-ranked members of the department were encouraging their staffers to work together.

"A lot of the guys over there have known me for 20 years (and) it gave them some credibility to go to their rank and file and say, 'He's not coming over here to create a hostile environment for us,'" he explained.

On Feb. 2, the firefighters union filed a grievance over DeCesare's appointment. Even then, by approaching the situation professionally, he said he feels he helped maintain a sense of cooperation.

Union President Keith Calci "came across as a very professional firefighter and union executive," DeCesare explained. "He was up-front with me (that he and the union) didn't agree, and it was nothing personal; it's just the nature of doing business."

DeCesare said his plan was "to be straight with them, and I know they did that with me."

In the course of his work, DeCesare explained he was able to get a close-up look at two of the major issues in the fire department — the overtime budget and staffing levels. The current budget includes an estimated $2.4 million in overtime costs, or about $100,000 every two weeks.

"The overtime just jumps off the page at you, so you try to get your hands around it — I asked a lot of questions over there," said DeCesare, though he made sure to take an information-gather approach, he added. "Operationally, there are these issues that will arise (but) I didn't want to take a knee-jerk reacton on any of this."

After his years managing the police department, DeCesare explained he found a fundamental difference in scheduling between the two departments. Where police officers typically draw one of three eight-hour shifts, five times per week, firefighters work two 14-hour days, two 10-hour nights, then have three days off.

"I asked whether they could use a police department schedule — that sparked a pretty creative dialogue," DeCesare recalled.

Overall, DeCesare agreed that he gained a new perspective on how his own department operates.

"It's good from time to time to visit other organizations to see what their standard operating procedures are and (whether) there are more effective ways to do it, and go back to your agency and see if you can implement them," he said.

Asked for his personal reflections on his recent experience, DeCesare first acknowledged the trust that Polisena and Tamburini showed by offering him the assignment, and noted the important insight he gained.

"I truly appreciate the mayor and the chief's confidence in my abilities to take on a responsibility like this; it made me feel good," he explained. "The transition has been stressfull, I'll be honest with you (but) the experience has also been very beneficial to me. It made me see both sides of the spectrum of public safety."