Belmont ends pact with Laconia, names its own new fire chief

BELMONT — Both sides say their inter-municipal agreement was successful, but Belmont selectmen have decided to end the pact with Laconia for fire administrative services, effective on Oct. 1, and to name their own fire chief.

Town Administrator Jeanne Beaudin said the town has “nothing but positive things to say” about the arrangement, which was put in place in March 2016 and had Laconia’s fire chief also serving as chief of the Belmont Fire Department.

“Myself and [Laconia City Manager] Scott Myers worked well together, and the two fire departments did amazing things together,” she said, adding that former Fire Chief Ken Erickson and current Chief Kirk Beattie “were excellent.”

Belmont’s selectmen have had extensive discussions about the arrangement, and “it purely came from the Belmont board looking at our own personnel,” Beaudin said. “Currently we have an assistant fire chief who has a lot to offer, and the selectmen felt we needed to bring it back in-house. It was time.”

"It was a very rewarding experience overall," Beattie said of his work with Belmont. "The attempt we made in this inter-municipal agreement was very successful."

In a press release announcing the change, the selectmen said, “We would like to thank the City of Laconia, its City Manager, members of the City Council, Fire Chief and members of the Laconia Fire Department for working in cooperation with Belmont under the shared administrative services agreement. We feel that the municipalities in our region should continue to explore opportunities for collaboration in all areas of local government and build upon the success of this original agreement.”

Assistant Belmont Fire Chief Michael Newhall will take over as chief on Oct. 1. Newhall started with the Belmont Fire Department 25 years ago as a call firefighter and has been full-time with the department for more than 20 years. He also serves as a paramedic.

Beaudin said there will be an increase in Newhall’s salary, but no change in benefits. The exact budgetary impact of the change has not yet been calculated.

“As the budget process gets going, there will be more information on what the total funding will be with Michael as chief,” Beaudin said, noting that there will be only three months’ impact in the current budget.

This year, the town budgeted $46,018.49 for expenses under the inter-municipal agreement. Beattie said his total salary is $105,000.

At Monday’s meeting of the Laconia City Council, Myers said there is adequate money available in the budget for Laconia to pick up the portion of Beattie's compensation that Belmont has been paying.

As for Newhall, “I’m just very happy, and glad to be able to take the leadership of the Belmont Fire Department,” he said. “We have an outstanding fire department with good people working for me.”

Newhall said he learned of the change last Friday, but it will be an easy transition.

“We’ve been working together, and will continue working together,” he said of the relationship with Laconia. “People will not see a lot of difference. We’ll continue working with all of our partners. This agreement has strengthened our relationship with all of them.”

He added, “I’m very very happy and very pleased at the promotion. I’m happy the selectmen and town administrator have supported me, as well as the Laconia Fire Department.”

In their press release, the selectmen said, “Assistant Chief Newhall has worked diligently under the guidance of former Laconia Fire Chief Ken Erickson and current Chief Kirk Beattie, and we feel confident that he is ready to take the reins of the Belmont Department.”

Rick Green contributed to this story.