Groveland fire chief placed on paid administrative leave

Jan. 31--GROVELAND -- Robert Lay, the town's fire chief since 2013, was recently placed on paid administrative leave by selectmen but said Tuesday he'd be willing to come back to work.

For that to happen, however, Lay said he would like to see his contract renegotiated and a mixup over his health insurance costs cleared up.

"They're not negotiating in good faith with me," Lay said.

Lay said selectmen unanimously voted to place him on paid administrative leave based on claims of insubordination and mismanagement during a special meeting Jan. 18.

The meeting was listed as an executive session to discuss personnel issues but Lay opted to have it held publicly. That allowed him to hire someone to videotape the meeting and get his side of the story before the public.

After two hours of peppering him with questions, selectmen voted to suspend him with pay, according to Lay.

"We really never solved anything," Lay said.

In an emailed statement, selectmen confirmed placing Lay on paid administrative leave at the meeting.

"The board articulated the complaints and charges brought against the chief and gave the chief an opportunity to respond," read the statement issued by town Personnel Director Denise Dembkoski. "At the conclusion of the meeting, the board placed the chief on paid administrative leave, pending further investigation and inquiry into the matters raised against him."

The statement said the dispute was not a criminal matter and that selectmen would meet with the chief Feb.12 "to deliberate further on the allegations and arrive at an outcome."

Since becoming the department's part-time fire chief, Lay has been enrolled in Groveland's health insurance system.

The town was supposed to deduct $1,200 a month from his paycheck but for more than two years, the deduction was never made. Selectmen accused Lay of knowingly not paying but the chief claimed he only caught the mistake recently.

The health insurance mixup has left Lay $24,000 in the red and both parties red in the face as Lay accused selectmen of not believing him.

"That's a primary point at this juncture," he said.

Lay also said selectmen accused him of mismanaging the department's budget and what he called a laundry list of smaller items.

In the same emailed statement, selectmen declined to comment on Lay's allegations.

The town operates a call firefighting department, meaning that the fire chief is the only permanent member of the department. When an emergency is reported, firefighters are called to report to the station or to the scene.

Lay, 63, works 19 hours per week and has an annual salary of $28,700. The lifelong Groveland resident joined the department in 1973 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1990.

Three years later, he was promoted to captain and named deputy chief in 2011. He spent 38 years in the private sector with SuperMedia LLC before retiring in 2011.

"I'm incredibly committed to the job" of chief, Lay said.

Staff writer Dave Rogers can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.

___

(c)2018 The Daily News of Newburyport (Newburyport, Mass.)

Visit The Daily News of Newburyport (Newburyport, Mass.) at www.newburyportnews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.