Town attorney backs Camillo’s position on Kick appointment.
GREENWICH — After reviewing the issue, Town Attorney Vincent Marino determined that the Board of Selectmen does not need to vote on the appointment of a new interim chief of the Greenwich Fire Department.
First Selectman Fred Camillo appointed Robert Kick to that position last month, but Selectwoman Jill Oberlander called for a vote by the full three-member Board of Selectmen.
On Thursday, Marino confirmed the earlier opinion of the town’s legal department. He told Camillo that he did not need to ask for a vote and that he had the unilateral power to name an interim department head.
“The first selectman’s appointment was proper,” Marino told the selectmen at their Thursday meeting.
Oberlander, who is an attorney, had cited the town charter’s section 218(a) which says, “The Board of Selectmen may, subject to the provisions of this article, on the recommendation of the first selectman … appoint and remove all heads of departments which are under the supervision and control of the first selectman.”
But Camillo had said that does not require him to seek board approval for an interim head — not a full-time one. He also said he didn’t want to set a precedent in case an emergency arises someday when he needed to name an interim head before a Board of Selectmen meeting could be held.
Marino said it was a “close call” but ultimately ruled in Camillo’s favor because he said it was an “administrative function” under the town charter and dd not put a permanent fire chief in place. He said the opinion was based on the “unanimous consensus” of the law department.
Oberlander said she wanted the Board of Selectmen to weigh in on the appointment because she wanted to publicly express her support for Kick.
“I wanted to recognize and thank him for stepping forward and for his dedication to the town and to the department,” Oberlander said. “He has shown courtesy to me as a town official and other town officials throughout the years I have known him.”
She also praised Kick’s capability and knowledge of the town and the fire department. He is “so well deserving of the position,” she said.
Oberlander said she continued to disagree with
Marino, stating that she felt an interim appointment remains a filling of the vacancy, but thanked him for his review.
Camillo thanked Oberlander for “bringing up something that was not even on our radars.” He admitted he had gone “back and forth” a little and said he could make a case based on Oberlander’s view.
Camillo said he appreciate the scrutiny from his colleague.
Kick, a 27-year veteran of the fire department, has been deputy fire chief for the past 13 years. Former Fire Chief Peter Siecienski retired at the end of May. Kick is the interim replacement as a search for a permanent chief continues.
The Board of Selectmen must approve Camillo’s choice for the full-time chief, as it would for any new department head in town government.
Camillo has said he will include Oberlander and Selectwoman Lauren Rabin in the hiring process so they will be aware of the finalist’s qualifications.
Oberlander attempted to call for a vote on Kick’s appointment at Thursday’s Board of Selectmen meeting but did not receive a second on her motion from Camillo or Rabin and could not proceed.