Friday, February 25, 2011
Town Chief of Staff Doug Jeffrey says the search committee has narrowed the field of candidates from the 40 applications received.
After receiving some 40 applications for the vacant fire chief post, Johnston's selection committee has narrowed the field, and is expected to start interviewing candidates next week, Chief of Staff Doug Jeffrey confirmed. During a phone interview Thursday afternoon, Jeffrey said that the committee had "made considerable progress" in the search to replace Andrew Baynes, who resigned from the post in January. Mayor Joseph M. Polisena later named himself acting fire chief and assigned Police Deputy Chief David DeCesare to serve in an administrative capacity and work on the transition to a new chief for the fire department. "I'm confident that we'll have a round of interviews next week, and an idea of who we'd like to hire, if not by the end …
41.825104
-71.499403
Johnston Fire Department
1520 Atwood Ave, Johnston, RI
/articles/fire-chief-interviews-to-start-next-week
509904
/locations/3508163
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Mayor Joseph Polisena confirms that a selection committee will begin meeting this week.
A search committee formed to recommend candidates to the post of Johnston fire chief is expected to begin meeting this week, Mayor Joseph M. Polisena confirmed during an interview Monday morning at Town Hall. Polisena said the town received some 40 resumes from all over the country, including New York City, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, New Jersey, and Texas. He added that 15 Rhode Islanders have also applied for the position, which became vacant after former Fire Chief Andrew Baynes resigned in January. Since then, Polisena has been serving as acting fire chief, with Police Deputy Chief David DeCesare — also the town's emergency management coordinator — filling an administrative role to help with the transition. Beginning this week, the search …
41.823897
-71.498821
Johnston Town Hall
1385 Hartford Ave, Johnston, RI
/articles/fire-chief-search-begins-in-earnest-this-week
509902
/locations/3403748
Friday, January 21, 2011
It will save the town money, it provides administrative oversight, and it allows time to find a highly qualified candidate, the mayor says.
Mayor Joseph M. Polisena, during an interview in his office Thursday, January 20, explained why he decided to appoint himself interim fire chief, following the resignation of Andrew J. Baynes going into effect on Tuesday. "It's a temporary situation, and I think it's going to work out," Polisena said. A former firefighter with three degrees, Polisena said he meets the town's qualifications for the position; he also stated that it will save money, since he's not collecting a salary. And Johnston has already lined up support from Cranston, Providence, North Providence, and Smithfield to lend their fire chiefs for incident management. "It's up to the batallion chief in Johnston to call the nearest community to the incident," he explained. …
41.823897
-71.498821
Johnston Town Hall
1385 Hartford Ave, Johnston, RI
/articles/polisena-explains-self-appointment-to-fire-chief-post
509902
/locations/3119920
41.825104
-71.499403
Johnston Fire Department
1520 Atwood Ave, Johnston, RI
/articles/polisena-explains-self-appointment-to-fire-chief-post
509904
/locations/3119921
Thursday, January 20, 2011
A former councilor also addresses the absence of her 2010 primary opponent.
The Town Council on January 19 introduced a new ordinance that would create a pension oversight board. As part of the process of establishing a new ordinance, the Council held a first reading; a second reading and vote on the ordinance will be held at a future meeting. District 2 Councilman Ernest Pitochelli said he supports the new pension ordinance, but wants it to include stronger language which would base pension payments solely on base salary, rather than including overtime, which often inflates retirement payments. "I would like that (base salary requirement) to be spelled out clearly in this ordinance," said Pitochelli. Mayor Joseph M. Polisena discussed the importance of the pension ordinance, and its impact of future budgets. "It …
41.82983
-71.500679
Johnston Municipal Court
1600 Atwood Ave, Johnston, RI
/articles/council-introduces-pension-board-ordinance
1819829
/locations/3112465
Andrew J. Baynes's resignation from the department took effect on January 18.
In what appeared to be a surprise to attendees of the Town Council meeting on January 19, Mayor Joseph M. Polisena named himself acting fire chief until a permanent replacement for former Chief Andrew J. Baynes can be found. Polisena also said that Police Deputy Chief David DeCesare, who is the town's emergency manegement coordinator, would provide administrative support during the interim period, estimated to be 60 days. Following a review of the Town Charter, Polisena said he saw nothing that prevented him from naming himself to the post until a national search yields results. "We are looking on a national level," said Polisena. "I don't want to wait too long, but I don't want to rush." Councilors seemed to take the anouncement in stride…
41.82983
-71.500679
Johnston Municipal Court
1600 Atwood Ave, Johnston, RI
/articles/mayor-polisena-names-acting-fire-chief-himself
1819829
/locations/3108620
Jack
8:21 am on Saturday, February 26, 2011
Jan 7 Sunrise “We definitely wouldn’t want to see it vacant for months,” he said. “It’s important for the department to have some kind of leadership.” In the coming weeks, the mayor hopes to put advertisements in both national and local publications. “We’re in the process of doing that now. I’d like to get it done soon,” the mayor said. He contacted one Johnston firefighter, whose name he did not… more ›