POUGHKEEPSIE – A proposed local law seeking to change the residency requirements for the next chief of the Poughkeepsie Fire Department was met with resistance by members of the council on Monday night.
In order for the current law to be changed, the council needs to set a public hearing, which sparked a debate that went off-topic and included conversations about lack of communication. The council eventually voted 6-2 in favor of setting a public hearing on the proposal.
Fire Chief Mark Johnson announced his upcoming retirement after 36 years of service in June of this year. He has been chief since 2010 and is slated to leave in January of 2022. Currently, the city requires that the fire chief live in the city. The proposal, suggested by city administration, seeks to allow the next chief to live within 15 miles of the city’s borders. The number of qualified candidates that live within the city is very limited and Mayor Rob Rolison would like to have a discussion about waiving the residency in order to expand the list of candidates.
“We need to have these discussions as we look to fill leadership positions,” he said. “We need to have these discussions with this council and the public on the challenges we have in recruiting and promoting from within our own departments.”
Several of the council members spoke against the change. Councilman Randall Johnson, in the last few weeks of his position, questioned Rolison about how many firefighters are in the department. He was informed again that the department has approximately 63 members. He indicated that he was opposed to the change. Shortly after, he voted against holding a public hearing on the subject.
Councilmember Sarah Brannen, like Johnson, is not returning to the council in January. Brannen railed against the change and voted against giving the public an opportunity to express their opinion at a hearing.
The date of the public hearing will be posted on the city’s website, which can be found HERE.
