Swampscott Select Board Split On New Police, Fire Chief Contracts

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Contract extensions for Swampscott Police Chief Ruben Quesada and Fire Chief Graham Archer were approved on Tuesday night above some objection from those who argued that giving pay increases and extending the deals a year ahead of their expiration in 2025 is setting a precarious precedent.

Chair MaryEllen Fletcher voted against the extensions, saying her vote "had nothing to do with performance," but was based on the principle of not renegotiating deals with term remaining on them.

"It was my opinion, and my strong opinion, that there was another year on those contracts and that there was no reason to extend them at that time," she told Patch on Wednesday. "We could have easily extended them in 2025."

The extensions were approved by a 4-1 vote with Select Board member Doug Thompson saying that research of comparable towns revealed the need for an adjustment of the town's salaries for some top positions.

"The Select Board did a thorough evaluation of the market and determined that several key town leaders' salaries were not consistent with our peer communities," he told Patch on Wednesday. "Therefore we took appropriate action to ensure we can retain high-quality leadership for the town."

Treasurer/Collector Patrick Luddy's contract was expiring and he received a new deal, while Building Commissioner Stephen Cummings received a new deal based partly on a change in job description that now also has him providing services in Marblehead.

"My opinion had nothing to do with performance but it had to do with equity among town staff," said Fletcher, noting that she had already heard from one other town employee in a similar situation by Wednesday morning. "We have multiple employees whose contracts expire in 2025 so to take out a few employees and do them doesn't seem right."

One person spoke in public comment criticizing the timing of the extensions with Fletcher opting not to recognize Select Board members who asked to respond to the comment — as that is customarily not done during open Select Board meetings.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)