Fallout Continues Following Firing Of Port Chester Firefighters

PORT CHESTER, N.Y. -- After the surprise firing of eight paid firefighters, as reported in the Daily Voice, an attorney representing them said the village board’s decision doesn't fit into New York State Village Law because it was done without a public referendum and resolution, according to lohud.com.

Protestors supporting the eight firefighters.

Photo Credit: Jon Craig

Jason Bisnoff

05/06/2016 4:30 p.m.

The attorney cited section 10-1020 which states, “The board of trustees of any village may, by resolution, abolish, in whole or in part, the fire department in such village, which action of the board of trustees shall be subject to a permissive referendum as defined in this chapter," according to lohud.com.

As a last minute solution to balancing the budget, the Port Chester Government decided to make the Fire Department an all-volunteer staff, saving $800,000, according to lohud.com.

Pending a resolution the eight firefighters are on paid administrative leave through the end of the month. At the same time the Village of Rye Brook is also considering legal action against Port Chester as a result of an accord from 2013 that features Rye Brook paying Port Chester about $1 million annually until 2018 for a paid Port Chester firefighter to cover an overnight shift nightly, lohud.com said.

Click here for the lohud.com article.

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