Medford mayor appoints herself as fire department leader amid issues with union
MEDFORD - The mayor of Medford has appointed herself as the head of the fire department. It's the latest development in the bitter battle between Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn and the firefighters' union.
The mayor says she's been stonewalled when trying to promote an acting leader after the last fire chief retired nearly two weeks ago. To get through some red tape, she appointed herself as fire department CEO in the meantime.
"I'm not riding on fire trucks," Mayor Lungo-Koehn said. "I am going to the station. I was there for three or four hours yesterday just to check in on things."
The mayor says she's going to name a Medford Fire Department deputy as acting chief on Thursday, but the union says she isn't following procedure.
"Twelve days with no chief, it's unheard of and our members aren't happy," said Walter Buckley, president of the Medford firefighters' union.
On Tuesday, the union filed a complaint claiming the city owes them unpaid wages.
Last month the mayor opened an investigation after nearly every firefighter called in sick on the same day. The mayor called it an "orchestrated event" and said the ordeal cost the city more than $92,000 in sick pay and overtime costs combined. The firefighters have denied abusing sick time.