METHUEN — In compiling a list that future firefighters would be hired from, former fire Chief Clifford Gallant and former Assistant Chief Dennis Bergeron ranked the 33 candidates from best to worst.
Eric Manzi, a third cousin of Mayor William Manzi, ranked second to last. Daniel Pomerleau, the son of a Lawrence firefighter and son-in-law of retired Department of Public Works employee Kevin Moury, ranked third from the bottom.
But Mayor Manzi put forth both men for appointment when compiling a list of 16 reserve firefighters.
"I essentially accept the recommendations of HR (human resources)," the mayor said. "We think the process is fine and I don't think that that list (from the chiefs) in and of itself, based on the scoring criteria, would be the final say."
Mayor Manzi said he didn't see the fire chiefs' list before he made his selections because it was not provided to him by human resources or the chiefs.
He also says that while his third cousin may not have done well on Gallant and Bergeron's list, he scored higher on the civil service exam than six others the chiefs picked.
He also maintains it was Human Resources Director Colleen McCarthy - and not him - who put forth Eric Manzi for the reserves' list. McCarthy did not return calls for comment.
"Believe me, never met the kid, don't know the kid," the mayor said of Eric Manzi. "Nobody called me on him ... and if he can't cut it, he won't get through the (fire-fighting) academy."
The city has come under fire from the state's Civil Service Commission for Manzi's selection of 12 reserve police officers. It has ordered officials to turn over any e-mails, memos, letters, computer files, phone bills, notes or other records regarding the selections. Manzi appointed relatives of city and police officials as reserve officers instead of some higher-ranking candidates, some of whom are military veterans.
Civil service rules place applicants for civil service jobs into "bands," based on how well they score on the civil service exam, and whether they served in the military. Veterans are given preference over non-veterans. The higher the band, the better the applicant scored on the exam.
Manzi said he didn't participate in the fire department job interviews. They were done by McCarthy, Gallant and Bergeron. Afterward, the mayor said McCarthy met with him, briefed him and gave him her recommendations.
Gallant and Bergeron recently retired, after submitting their recommendations for the reserve list. The Eagle-Tribune asked to see their recommendations in a Freedom of Information Act request filed with the city, which City Solicitor Peter McQuillan denied. The newspaper was able to obtain a copy of the recommendations on its own, and Gallant confirmed its authenticity.
Manzi said if the city were to hire based only on the fire chiefs' recommendations, "Why have the civil service test then?"
"The chiefs' recommendations aren't cast aside, but they're not the sole criteria for selection," the mayor said. "I don't think anybody would disagree with that."
The fire chiefs scored the candidates on their appearance, bearing, expression, job knowledge, motivation, personality and education. They scored them on a scale of 1 through 5, with 5 being the highest, in each subject, according to a document obtained by The Eagle-Tribune.
In order to receive a 5 for appearance, the candidate would have to have "immaculate attire and grooming." Someone who received a 1 for bearing would have "no bearing, lacks confidence" and "slovenly posture," the document said.
Manzi said that is Gallant's and Bergeron's "subjective criteria."
"This whole thing about appearance — this is fire fighting, we're not showing up in a suit," the mayor said.
Based on their criteria, the chiefs recommended Stephanie Williams, an EMT for Action Ambulance in Wilmington, who scored in the fifth-highest band along with Pomerleau. However, the chiefs ranked her third on their list.
Williams' job application shows that she attended North Shore Community College for three years, but didn't attain a degree, and she was dismissed from a job at Stoneham Bank. She has been an EMT for three years, according to her application.
Gallant said in an e-mail that he and Bergeron considered not only how the candidates did during the interviews, but also looked at criminal records, driving records and academic records. They also asked about things such as fear of heights and confined spaces, and whether they smoke, he said.
The candidate that Gallant and Bergeron ranked highest was Christopher Valliere, an emergency medical technician for Trinity EMS in Lowell. Valliere served in the Navy for four years and graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with honors. He also served as an on-call firefighter in Amherst while in college, and received a certificate of appreciation from the town for his service.
But Mayor Manzi acknowledged that he passed him over when he originally compiled a list of reserves. Valliere appealed to the Civil Service Commission, and Manzi said put him on the reserve list.
The reason Valliere was bypassed, Manzi said, was that city officials were confused by the fact that there were two Vallieres in the running to become firefighters, and that led to only one of them being selected.
"Our position was that both should have been checked initially, but only one of them was," the mayor said. "I think it was the identical last name."
The other Valliere is Paul Valliere, a Marine who fought in Iraq and now works for the city's Department of Public Works, according to his job application. The fire chiefs ranked him fourth on the list of people they wanted to hire. Both Vallieres are now on the reserve list — Paul Valliere was on it from the beginning, and Christopher Valliere was added later.
Christopher Valliere is in the second highest band, and Paul Valliere is in the third highest.
Manzi also originally skipped over Rebecca Ferreira, an Air Force veteran and Massachusetts Air National Guard member who is in the highest band. But he added her to the list after The Eagle-Tribune, during an interview last month, asked him why she was passed over. Manzi has said an "oversight" may have led to Ferreira being bypassed.
Of the 15 candidates originally put forward by the chiefs, Mayor Manzi picked eight of them, according to a comparison of the mayor's picks and the chiefs' list.
Manzi noted some of the people he selected for appointment are in higher civil service bands than those recommended by the chiefs, including his third cousin Eric Manzi. A security officer at the Seabrook, N.H. nuclear power plant, he is in the fourth highest civil service band — one band higher than six people included in Gallant's and Bergeron's top 15.
"It was a consideration made by (human resources), and on that basis, he was selected. It's as simple as that," he said.
Manzi noted that three of the people he selected did not make the fire chiefs' top 15 and already work for the public works department.
"These are people that work for the city of Methuen. We know them," he said.
One of them is Pomerleau, who Manzi said he personally doesn't know "from a hole in the wall."
Another is Michael Lough.
"Lough's whole family worked for the city," Manzi said. "(The) family has a good history."
Full-time firefighters are picked from the reserve list, but they have to make it through the fire-fighting academy before they become a full-time firefighter, Manzi said. So being on the reserve list does not guarantee that you will become a firefighter, he said.
The academy is a "grueling training session where people have washed out of," he said.
Manzi said his discussion about the reserve list with the human resources director, when she presented her recommendations, was brief.
"This is about the reserve list," he said. "It's really not a major item in my day."
Reserve firefighters selected by Mayor William Manzi
Christopher Valliere (chosen after appealing to civil service)
Rebecca Ferreira (added after The Eagle-Tribune questioned why she was left off the list)
Ross Hendrigan
Paul Valliere
Liberato Melillo
Daniel Pomerleau
Gregory McCorry
Patrick McKallagat
Mark Abraham
Craig Langlais
Michael Lough
Ryan Sullivan
Eric Manzi
John Blais
Salvatore DiPrima
Matthew Collier
Source: Massachusetts Human Resources Division
Fire chiefs' recommendations, from highest to lowest
Christopher Valliere
Ross Hendrigan
Stephanie Williams
Paul Valliere
Jody Ste.Marie
Gregory McCorry
Mark Abraham
David Crogan
Ryan Sullivan
Matthew Collier
Jonathan Andrews
Rebecca Ferreira
Anthony Shaheen
Jeff Paolino
Liberato Melillo
Craig Langlais
Salvatore DiPrima
William Drouin
Michael Lough
Jessica Berube
Patrick McKallagat
John Blais
Kevin Ord
Christopher Hatem
Anthony D'Agati
Kevin Zahn
Eric Rogers
Wayne Dow
Dan Holgate
Erik Chase
Daniel Pomerleau
Eric Manzi
Jarod Cikacz
Source: Document obtained by The Eagle-Tribune
