Marshfield's fire chief ousted. Union files labor complaint against select board

Marshfield’s fire chief is out after the town’s select board this week declined to renew his contract, citing budget concerns, management style and a few vague reasons that were not divulged.

And now, the union that represents fire department personnel is filing unfair labor charges against the select board for comments that members made during the discussion of Chief Jeffrey Simpson’s contract.

The three-person select board took up Simpson’s contract during a regular meeting Monday evening. Because the item was listed under “board discussion,” Chair Jim Kilcoyne said no public comment – not even from Simpson – would be accepted.

Why is Marshfield fire chief leaving? What the union says in its complaint

More: Marshfield payroll: How much town employees are paid. We have the full list

“There’s a lot that we know that’s been going on, but I don’t want to sit here and air dirty laundry and be malicious,” said select board member Stephen Darcy. “There’s management of the budget and management of your personnel, and, at one time or another, we’ve had an issue one of those fronts.”

Fire chief called 'a good man who’s been taken advantage of'

Darcy added that he thought Simpson was “a good man who’s been taken advantage of,” and that “the union leadership is not in charge of the Marshfield Fire Department.”

Lynne Fidler, who is the board’s vice chair, said the fire chief’s leadership and management has been a “concern.”

“A lot of what we’re doing here today is about our feeling of trustworthiness,” she said.

Fire department had more overtime last year than police

Kilcoyne mentioned an issue with overtime. Last year, the fire department had the town’s highest amount of overtime paid at $1.16 million, followed closely behind by the police department with $1.09 million.

He also alleged that during a recent storm, the fire department was “never asked to go out” to assist. Fidler mentioned a similar incident. (The timing of the storm was unclear. Fidler said it occurred “at the end of our fiscal year 2023," but Kilcoyne said “four or five weeks ago,” meaning February.)

Nevertheless, Kilcoyne said he was “disappointed in the esprit de corps of the fire department” during the storm.

The union’s president vehemently refuted the suggestion, saying the department responds to every call. Blaming the union as a reason to let Simpson go was “completely false” and “unwarranted,” said Marshfield Fighters Local 2568 President Pat Daley.

Chief isn't a union member, but the guild is standing up for him

The fire chief is not a union member and the union does not have a say in who is hired as the chief. But Daley wrote a letter of support for Simpson’s contract renewal. In the letter, Daley said that the chief addressed communication issues and had gotten more than $800,000 in grants for new equipment and safety training.

Neither Simpson nor the select board could be reached for comment. Town Administrator Michael Maresco said the town does not comment on personnel matters. Simpson spoke with WATD 95.9 after the Monday meeting, saying his most recent review was "very positive."

"We have fantastic morale, low sick time and everything's under budget. I have no idea what's going on," he told the radio station.

The select board held two behind-closed-doors executive sessions, on Jan. 31 and Feb. 5, regarding a complaint made against Simpson. Maresco would not discuss the complaint. Daley, who was present during those meetings as a union representative, also declined to detail the nature of the complaint. Daley said 12 fire department members were interviewed as part of the investigation. The issue was settled between the parties, he said.

Daley added he was “extremely taken aback” by the board’s comments, which moved them to retain legal counsel and file unfair labor charges against the select board.

Simpson started his firefighting career with the town of Norwell in 1991, and became its chief following former Chief Andrew Reardon’s retirement in 2020. He was hired to run Marshfield’s fire department in 2021.

The last day of Simpson’s three-year contract is April 25.

Hannah Morse covers growth and development for The Patriot Ledger. Contact her at hmorse@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Marshfield, MA, Fire Chief Jeffrey Simpson's out of a job