MA Fire Chief Terminated; Disputes Neglect of Duty Claims

ROCKPORT, NY— Fire Chief James Doyle has been fired.

After a meeting that last more than two and half hours, all five of Rockport's selectmen voted Wednesday night to terminate Doyle's employment by the town.

At its peak, around 690 people signed in or called to join Zoom meeting, including all five selectmen, and town counsel Darren Klein. Town Administrator Mitch Vieira was logged on to the call, but had his camera and microphone disabled.

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Klein gave a presentation about the various charges against Doyle. These include Doyle allegedly failing to:

• Implement formal procedures for fire inspections.
• Keep financial records for said inspections.
• Turn over financial records required for the town to receive COVID-19 grant funding.
• Perform statutorily required inspections of innholder licensees.
• Properly submit applications for six on-call firefighters to the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy in a timely manner.
• Discipline two subordinates.

These allegations reportedly occurred after Doyle received and signed a "last chance" agreement. According to Klien, Doyle was reprimanded for a March 2019 incident. Doyle, allegedly, got into a verbal altercation with a subordinate off town-owned grounds and not during work hours. In addition to signing the agreement, Doyle received a three-day suspension and was required to attend anti-harassment training.

By signing the agreement Doyle reportedly waived rights to dispute his termination in case another incident occurred. Klein said selectmen were not legally required to hold Wednesday's meeting, but did so out of courtesy as Doyle has worked for the town for more than four decades.

Doyle's legal representation, lawyer Liam O'Connell, spoke for Doyle during the hearing. O'Connell called into question of the legitimacy of the "last-chance" agreement, as the investigation into Doyle's transgression was investigated by the wife of police Chief John Horvath, Dinamary Horvath. This, in his opinion, caused a conflict of interest with the investigation, as Chief Horvath is Emergency Service Director Mark Schmink's superior. The emergency services director has had a leadership role in running the Fire Department until a November protest by town firefighters.

Klein disputed these allegations, saying Horvath's wife "had no financial ties to the Fire Department."

O'Connell also argued against the legitimacy of the hearing in general, saying the Doyle matter needs to be handled by a personnel board, which the town no longer has. Klein said a personnel board is not an appointing party.

The town charter allows the selectmen to appoint or fire members to the Fire Department.

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