The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Cromwell fire chief leaving post to join West Haven department
“The district was not prepared to go beyond a two-year extension.”
Julius C. Neto, Cromwell Fire District’s executive director
CROMWELL – Michael R. Terenzio has resigned as fire chief to take a position with a fire department in West Haven, he said.
Terenzio, who has been chief for the past four years, resigned in a two-page letter he submitted to Julius C. Neto, the fire district’s executive director.
Terenzio’s final day is Nov. 6.
The Cromwell Fire District’s personnel committee was scheduled to meet Tuesday to begin discussions on how to develop a transition plan for a temporary replacement for Terenzio.
Terenzio was hired under a three-year contract, which expired in 2019.
In February, he and the district began negotiations on a new contract.
Those negotiations were interrupted for some period of time, Neto said Tuesday.
Terenzio “opted to not engage for a number of
months,” Neto said.
The discussions did resume approximately three months ago, he added.
Neto said the commission had rejected Terenzio’s request for a three- or fouryear extension.
“The district was not prepared to go beyond a two-year extension,” Neto said.
Both in his letter – and during the conversation with a reporter - Terenzio said the failure to complete the negotiations led to his reluctant decision to seek employment elsewhere.
He made it clear he had been intent on completing his career in the fire service in Cromwell.
The fact that he will not “is a little bittersweet,” he said.
Still, he took pride in the fact that “The town is in a better position now than when I first got here.”
“In the last four years, we had done a lot of things, and I wanted to remain here to enjoy the fruits of my labors,” he said.
Terenzio was hired in September 2016, to fill the chief’s position following the resignation of Chief Stephen Pendl earlier in the year.
Terenzio came to Cromwell from Stamford where he joined the fire department in 1992.
In his letter of resignation, Terenzio
wrote, “I would like you all to realize that I have enjoyed working for you and with many of you in the further improvements in our emergency services delivery system. Your support through many trying times during this short tenure was always appreciated.”
Neto said he would press the commission to rely upon existing staff to lead the district until the commission formulates a succession plan.
In a letter dated Tuesday, Neto said the fire department “has a highly qualified, very talented professional staff that will continue to serve the Cromwell community.”
On that, he and Terenzio agreed.
“There are a lot of good people here,” Terenzio said.
In the letter he issued Tuesday, Neto thanked Terenzio for his service to the district and wished him well.