Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Solicitor William Conley succeeds in getting Providence Superior Court to reverse a decision imposed against the town stemming from bullying incidents that happened during the tenure of late former Mayor William Macera.
During a press conference at Town Hall on March 23, Mayor Joseph M. Polisena announced that the town will not have to pay $4.35 million in damages stemming from a civil rights case brought against the town under the late former Mayor William Macera. "It would have been financially devastating to this town" if the judgment had remained in effect, Polisena said. Polisena explained that Town Solicitor William Conley pursued a reversal of the award in Providence Superior Court, which followed a judgment against the town. During the press conference on March 23, Conley explained that the suit resulted from bullying incidents between 2001 and 2005. The victim's parents, John and Gina Funaro, sued the town, the police department, and the school …
41.823897
-71.498821
Johnston Town Hall
1385 Hartford Ave, Johnston, RI
/articles/town-gets-435-million-damage-award-wiped-out
509902
/locations/3773337
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Johnston's mayor says the $220,000 set aside in the current budget is gone, and that money will be transferred from other departments.
Even though warmer weather is forecast this week, Mayor Joseph M. Polisena acknowledges there are still several weeks of winter left — and the town's snow-clearing budget has already been emptied. "We've run out of money, and so we'll take the money out of other departments that haven't spent it" to cover future snow-clearing costs, Polisena said in an interview at Town Hall on Monday morning. The town's Department of Public Works crews are clearing drains and cleaning off manholes throughout the town, plus there's still the work of removing the grimy piles of ice and snow that fall into roadways as they melt, Polisena explained. Final costs of the town's most recent response to winter weather aren't tallied up yet, Polisena said, but it's…
41.823897
-71.498821
Johnston Town Hall
1385 Hartford Ave, Johnston, RI
/articles/polisena-weve-run-out-of-money-in-snow-clearing-budget
509902
/locations/3420968
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
Joe Wells
9:58 am on Tuesday, January 25, 2011
It is not my intent to critique my former colleagues or the new members of the Town Council, after all we all have our reasons for missing commitments made in advance. In this case the newly elected councilperson from district one decided her vacation was more important than being in attendance for her very first meeting of the Johnston Town Council. A bad choice if you ask me. Running for … more ›