Commission grants 89-day contract to retiring fire chief
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Honolulu Fire Commission yesterday approved an 89-day contract for Fire Chief Attilio Leonardi that will allow him to continue working despite his planned retirement at the end of this month.
The commission voted 3-1 for the first of what could be several such contracts for Leonardi. The first begins on Jan. 9, 2004, and ends on April 6.
Leonardi
Commissioner Cynthia Bond voted against the reappointment, while Chairwoman Sandra Au Fong and commissioners Anson Ilae and Patsy Young voted in favor. Bond, a former director of the city's Department of Human Services, said she has never supported 89-day appointments for retired city workers.
"Under the state Employees' Retirement System law, one cannot collect retirement benefits if one works full time for 90 days or more," Bond said. "Surely, multiple 89-day appointments with one-day breaks between them must violate the spirit of the law, if not the letter."
Leonardi, 58, has been with the Fire Department for 33 years and is retiring from his $110,000-a-year job because he would lose pension benefits under the retirement laws if he does not start taking his pension. He said the 89-day contracts were the commission's idea because they would allow him to oversee the completion of several major projects, such as the department's reaccreditation and the construction of a new headquarters in Kaka'ako.
The commissioners said they did not know how many times the chief would be reappointed, but Leonardi said the reaccreditation could last into early 2005.
Also opposing Leonardi's reappointment was retired fire Capt. Bob Lancaster. He said he was "appalled" by the commission's actions and said he planned to take legal action to stop the contract extensions.
Leonardi said he appreciated the commission's vote of confidence and said he expected the criticism.
"I know this wasn't going to happen without any controversy," Leonardi said. "It's always been 89 days at a time and we'll take it as we go. They have asked me specifically to handle a couple of projects that I've been working on for quite a while and those are the projects that they want me to complete."
Reach Curtis Lum at 525-8025 or culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.
