MA Fire Chief Accused of Neglect of Duty in Termination Letter

ROCKPORT, MA—The town is seeking to remove fire Chief James Doyle based on allegations of financial mismanagement and neglect of duty, according to a termination letter served to Doyle on Dec. 7.

Farrell Smith O'Connell, Doyle's lawyer, disputed the town's claims Tuesday, one day before Doyle is scheduled to meet with selectmen to discuss the future of his employment by the town.

The termination letter, signed by Town Administrator Mitch Vieira, was given to Doyle nearly a month after he was put on administrative leave on Nov. 10. At the top, it states it is "personal and confidential — not a public document."

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It is unclear if the allegations will be brought up during Doyle's hearing with selectmen, which is scheduled to take place online on Wednesday, Feb. 3, at 6 p.m.

Fire inspection money

In the letter, the town accuses Doyle of not properly recording and filing fire inspections. A third-party auditor was brought in on Oct. 7, a month before Rockport volunteer firefighters submitted a letter demanding Emergency Service Director Mark Schmink and Assistant Fire Chief Steven Abell Jr. be removed from their leadership roles. Through this audit, the town reportedly discovered "there are no formal procedures relative to administration of Fire Department inspections; there are no processes in place where monthly or periodic reports of all inspections are available; and, you (Doyle) do not conduct any internal tracking of inspections done and funds collected by (Doyle), for reconciliation with the town's accounting records."

Because of this, the termination letter states, the town has no way to verify if Doyle is turning over cash payments made for fire inspections.

"Indeed, there is some evidence suggesting that you are not doing so," it continues. "On average, over the past few years, you have turned over approximately $15,000-$16,000 per year in inspection and permit fees. In FY20, the total amount of fees reported and deposited by you was $13,410.00, however, you turned over only $200 in cash payments ... This turnover amount does not match what you have submitted for the 2019 Annual Town Report nor are we able to reconcile it in any way since you have failed to properly maintain the required records associated with this work."

Doyle's lawyer noted the COVID-19 pandemic caused the Fire Department to cancel inspections from March 15 until after fiscal year 2021 began this summer.

"Fire inspections are almost entirely paid for by check, each year the cash receipts are around $200," the attorney said in his letter. "The Fire Inspection services (collected) 15 percent less than the previous three (fiscal years), but there were no inspections conducted for over 25% of the FY2020."

The letter also mentions the Oct. 7 audit found nothing "related to any moneys missing or unaccounted for."

Another accusation levied against Doyle is "failing to perform statutorily required inspections of innholder licensees."

In response, Smith O'Connell alleges " Mitch Vieira and Schmink didn't even know about the required inspections of innholders until after they placed Chief Doyle on leave. ... These innholders are almost entirely seasonal, but if Chief Jimmy Doyle didn't know about and Rockport's Public Safety Commissioner and Emergency Services Director didn't either (as both have apparent express duties related to knowledge of applicable regulations and statutes), is this an appropriate charge to terminate him for?"

Personnel issues

Doyle, in the town's opinion, also failed to "appropriately manage personnel."

At an undisclosed time, six on-call Rockport firefighters were unable to enroll in the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy for that year, causing the town to waste $4,000 on six physical exams. The town alleges Doyle mailed in the application materials when they were supposed to be emailed, and the applications could not be resubmitted in an orderly manner because Doyle had reportedly mailed the department's only copies.

The chief's attorney blamed "red-tape and delays, which were never a part of this process" until Vieira and Schmink got involved.

" Mitch Vieira inserted himself in the process, as he had not been involved before, delaying their physicals which caused them to miss the application deadline," the firm's statement reads. "Schmink ordered Volunteer Chief Doyle to change the way the Board of Engineers have been operating for decades, including forcing each volunteer firefighter to sign a contract that they would pay for the training if they left the RFD within five years after completion. ... Schmink conditioned the volunteer firefighters' applications from being submitted to the Academy (neither submitted or accepted at this point) on Chief Doyle creating a spreadsheet itemizing, amongst other things, how they were going to travel to the Academy."

Vieira denied holding back the physicals in Doyle's termination letter.

The town alleges Doyle also failed to discipline two subordinates in July.

One volunteer is allegedly a relative of Doyle. Because of this, according to Smith O'Connell, Doyle "delegated this unlawful order by Schmink to another member of the Board of Engineers." However, the town claims "the actions of the offending employee were not addressed and the matter has been left unresolved."

Regarding the other volunteer, " Rockport Police Department complained that a firefighter operated his personal vehicle unsafely during a response to call," Smith O'Connell claimed. Despite the town claiming Doyle "failed to address (the complaint) whatsoever," the attorney said Doyle had disciplined the firefighter "in writing." Once again, the firm believes this discipline request from Schmink was "unlawful."

Since November, the town has refused to detail why Doyle was put on administrative leave besides saying it due to "personnel issues." This has caused a stir in town, as many believe the administrative leave was retaliation over the firefighters' demand letter, sent Nov. 10, and threatened walkout. The following day, Doyle's administrative leave officially began. For the past three months, selectmen and Vieira have routinely denied Doyle's leave had anything to do with the firefighters' letter or leadership struggles at the department.

Fire Chief Hearing

What: Selectmen will host a hearing via Zoom on the employment status of Fire Chief James Doyle.
When: Wednesday, Feb. 3, at 6 p.m.
How to join: Via Zoom at https://rockportma-gov.zoom.us/j/87545779044 or by calling 1-929-205-6099 Meeting ID is 875 4577 9044.

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