NH Chief Loses Suit to Keep Job

A fire chief in New Hampshire has lost his bid to be reinstated. Strafford County Superior Court Judge Brian Tucker concluded that the Town of New Durham was within its rights to terminate Fire Chief Peter Varney without cause back in 2014.

Chief Varney was appointed for a three-year term as fire chief in New Durham ending in March, 2012. Under state law a fire chief who is appointed for an indefinite term may only be removed for cause, while one who is appointed for a definite term may simply not be reappointed.

Chief Varney claimed that when the Board of Selectmen for New Durham failed to either reappoint him or appoint a new chief in March of 2012, he became a chief who was appointed for an indefinite term. We reviewed this aspect of the case back in April 2014. Unfortunately, Judge Tucker disagreed.

From the decision:

• “The court does not read the law as Mr. Varney does, to entitle a fire chief not reappointed and in hold-over status to remain in office for a successive new term, unless there is good cause to remove him.”
• “The question is whether by permitting Mr. Varney to remain as fire chief once his appointed term expired, the town ‘reappointed’ him to the office for a new three-year term, thereby making him subject to removal only for ‘good cause.’”
• “Even if it is arguable that a showing of cause is necessary in order to remove a hold-over fire chief where no successor has been appointed, that is not the case here, Mr. Varney was not dismissed, but replaced by a new appointee of the (board of selectmen).”
• “… Contrary to (Varney’s) argument, (the board’s) delay in appointing a successor did not change the term of the office. His successor simply serves the time remaining for the term of office expiring in March 2015.”

Here is more on the case.