The rumors of Thomas Joyce’s resignation have been somewhat exaggerated. On July 5, 2012, the Marion Board of Selectmen posted a notice on the town website advertising an emergency meeting regarding the “resignation of Fire Chief Joyce.”
When contacted, Town Administrator Paul Dawson stated the meeting had been called because there was concern that Chief Joyce might resign as EMS director, effective at 12:00 pm on Thursday, if issues involving his compensation were not addressed
“I think there were some misunderstandings between the parties. I have no complaints. Since we combined fire and EMS, things have gone very well,” said Joyce. “He’s doing a fantastic job,” Dawson said.
Last year, the town began considering consolidating the fire department with the EMS, under one director. On July 1, 2011, Joyce was appointed to fulfill that role, but without a procedure for compensating him for his work as EMS director. “It was a dry run to see how things could go,” said Town Administrator Paul Dawson.
But a year later, Joyce has yet to receive any compensation for his role running Marion’s emergency medical services.
“We’ve had an on-going issue regarding pay for the chief’s position as EMS director,” said Dawson.
Discussions regarding how to pay Joyce continued over the summer but stalled. Dawson said talks resumed in November of 2011, but eventually stopped again due to the preparations for the Annual Town Meeting and the drafting of the town budget. “It was a very busy time. He understands there is a lot of bureaucracy involved,” said Dawson. “He and I were having on-going discussions, so he was aware.”
The process was further convoluted by Joyce’s current pension, which he earned as Wareham’s Chief of Police. “As a retiree of a pension system, he is subject to limited earnings,” Dawson said..
A year after Joyce’s appointment, they are finally on track. “We understand the parameters now. We just need to discuss how that will occur,” Dawson said. “The Board of Selectmen will be requesting to meet with the Finance Committee to discuss whether there should be retroactive pay from July 1, 2011 to now.” Dawson said that the Board of Selectmen may seek a transfer from reserve funds.
The Board of Selectmen is also investigating other towns that have blended their fire and EMS departments and how they compensate those directors.
By Eric Tripoli
