Stockbridge – Conceding to the process proposed by Town Counsel J. Raymond Miyares, Fire Chief Ernest Cardillo, newly elected to the Board of Selectman, intends to resign his post as selectman at the conclusion of Monday’s (June 29) meeting of the Board of Selectman, Cardillo told The Edge.
A member of the town Fire Department for 37 years and its chief for the past three, Cardillo unseated long-time Selectman Deborah McNemany at the May 19 town elections.
Ten days later, Town Counsel J. Raymond Miyares, advised the board that Cardillo could not serve on the same board that would reappoint him as fire chief when his contract with the town expired on June 30.
“I will most likely resign as selectman,” Cardillo said during a Sunday interview. “I’m trying to save the town as much hassle as possible. I’ll also be stepping down for 30 days as fire chief. I’ll be making those announcements at the end of the meeting.”
His election to the board was complicated by the fact that his contract as fire chief expires Tuesday, June 30, and he is seeking to be reappointed.
That circumstance promptly raised legal issues, as Selectmen Stephen Shatz and Charles Gillett sought clarification from Town Counsel Miyares about whether Cardillo could recuse himself from negotiations on union contract matters that would affect his $57,888 annual salary.
The answer from Miyares surprised Shatz, Gillett and Cardillo.
On May 27, Town Counsel Miyares issued a legal opinion concluding that state ethics provisions prevented Cardillo from serving both as fire chief and selectman, since as a selectman he would be a member of the board responsible for his reappointment.
Instead, Miyares outlined a procedure whereby Cardillo could resign from the Board of Selectman, wait the requisite 30 days for reappointment as fire chief – provided the two remaining selectmen are willing to reappoint him – and then run for selectman in a special election.
Miyares’ analysis was confirmed by the State Ethics Commission, although the commission is currently in the process of reviewing the case on the basis of a challenge filled by Cardillo’s attorney, Jeremia Pollard. The Commission’s ruling on the challenge has not yet been issued.
Pollard had argued that by denying Cardillo a seat on the Board of Selectman, the commission was contradicting previous decisions that had allowed town department heads in other communities to serve on boards of selectmen. One example is Roberta Sarnacki, police chief and chairman of the Board of Selectmen in the town of Otis.
Further, in the past century, the police chief in Stockbridge has often served on the Board of Selectmen.
Two weeks ago, Cardillo declared that he expected to be vindicated by the state Ethics Commission but in the end Cardillo had to yield to Miyares’ analysis, in the absence of a final determination by the Commission.
“If you elect to resign from your position as selectman, you may be reappointed to the position only after the expiration of 30 days from the date of your resignation,” Miyares wrote in his opinion. “If you resign as a selectman and are reappointed as fire chief, you are still eligible to run as a candidate in the special Election to fill the vacancy created by your resignation… If elected, you could continue to serve as fire chief for the duration of your term, and request approval of any future reappointment to the position of fire chief at the Annual town Meeting next May.”
Cardillo has now chosen to follow this procedure, given the expiration of his contract as fire chief.
“I couldn’t wait for them [the State Ethics Commission] to rule,” Cardillo said.
He has already consulted with the members of his Fire Department, he said, about the expected month-long hiatus in department leadership.
“The officers have gotten together, and we have that worked out,” Cardillo explained. “No one should worry that we’re leaving the town high and dry. We have a plan.”
Still, Cardillo is assuming that once he resigns, Shatz and Gillett will review his contract and reappoint him, once the 30-day waiting period is over.
“I’m hoping they will,” he said. “But I’m not guaranteed that.”
At the same time, Cardillo expressed his desire to serve as a selectman, and his hope that he will be re-elected at a special election.
“I feel I have the support of the town, but we have to go through all this, for the same result,” he said.
