City Official Gets the Boot.. AGAIN!

From The Woonsocket Call

City official gets the boot

Second time Chianese fired

By RUSS OLIVO

rolivo@woonsocketcall.com

WOONSOCKET– Building Official Christopher Chianese has been fired by the city – again. Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt said Chianese was terminated on Monday after she and other department heads decided he wasn’t a good fit for the city. “It’s not in the best interest of the city,” the mayor said. “I like him. I like his talents. There’s a component when you work with the public that’s very, very important to the success of the city.  That component was not there.” It was Baldelli-Hunt who decided to give Chianese a second chance after he was fired by former Mayor Leo Fontaine last September. Fontaine never said why Chianese was let go, citing personnel privacy. To bring him back, the city settled an arbitration dispute that Chianese brought against the Fontaine administration in which he had contested his termination. Baldelli-Hunt brought Chianese back Jan. 13 on condition that his employment status be considered probationary for the first 60 days.

City Solicitor Michael Marcello would not say why Chianese was fired, but he said that because the building official was still on probation the city had wide latitude to sever ties with him. “We hired him back under a probationary agreement,” said Marcello. “During that period the city had the right to fire him at any time, for any reason.” Chianese has the right to resurrect the wrongful termination claims resulting from his firing during the Fontaine administration as part of the probationary rehiring settlement. But Marcello said that if he does the city would fight the claim. Even if the city were to lose, Marcello said he doesn’t envision any scenario in which Chianese would reclaim his job in a Baldelli-Hunt administration.“He’s not coming back,” he said.

Chianese’s exit leaves the city with a void in a critical, hard-to-fill position that already has officials scrambling. Under state law, only a certified building official can sign building permits and certificates of occupancy – documents that are vital to keep the real estate and construction trades lubricated. “We’re not issuing permits,” said Planning Director Joel D. Mathews, Chianese’s immediate supervisor. “Right now I’m scrambling around because we haven’t got a building official to sign CO’s and building permits. No one here has the proper certification to do that.”Mathews said he is recommending that the mayor move quickly to fill Chianese’s position with a temporary substitute and begin advertising for a permanent replacement. Councilman Christopher Beauchamp echoed those concerns. “It’s important to economic development to make sure people get their COs and temporary COs,” he said. “Hopefully the mayor can take care of that quickly. ”Baldelli-Hunt said she’s already initiated the process of replacing Chianese, but she didn’t elaborate.

At the time of Chianese’s first firing, the Fontaine administration was embroiled in a heated political campaign in which the city’s business climate had become an issue after contractors complained publicly that the building official was tough to deal with.  News of his job status didn’t surface until some two months after the city fired him, when the Fontaine administration asked the Budget Commission for permission to replace him.  The commission tabled the request after members were advised that Chianese was protesting his termination in an arbitration proceeding. Chianese, 52, has worked for the city since March 2001, coming aboard as the assistant to the building inspector. He was promoted to building inspector inJune 2010, succeeding former Building Inspector Donald Gagnon after he retired. The position is budgeted for an annual salary of$61,393. The qualifications include eight years in general construction in a supervisory capacity and proper certification as a building official, which can be obtained either through the state or the International Code Council, a supervisory trade group. Efforts to reach Chianese for comment on this story were not successful.